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Richard,   Marie  E. 
Philip  Jacob  Spener   and  his 
work 


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PHILIP   JACOB    SPENER 
AND  HIS  WORK. 


By  marie  E.  RICHARD. 


"How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him  that  bnngeth 
good  tidings,  that  piiblisheth  peace;  that  bnngeth  good  tidings  of  good, 
that  piiblisheth  salvation;  that  saith  unto  Zion,  Thy  God  reigneth!"— 
Isaiah  lii.  7. 


PHILADELPHIA : 

LUTHERAN  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY. 

1897. 


Copyright,  1897, 

BY 

THE  LUTHERAN  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY. 


pbilip  3^acob  Spener  anD  Ibis  Morft, 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

CHAPTER  I. 

Condition  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Germany  at  the  time  of 
Spener's  Birth— His  Youth  and  Education— His  Marriage— 
His  Pastorate  in  Strasburg,  and  Call  to  Frankfort 5 

CHAPTER  II. 

Spener  as  Senior  ot  the  Ministerium  at  Frankfort— Tils  Preaching 
and  Efforts  for  the  Reform  of  the  Church— His  Opinions  on 
Church  Government 18 

CHAPTER  III. 
Spener's  Controversies— His  Sickness— His  Call  to  Dresden    ...     38 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Spener  as  Court-preacher  at  Dresden— Condition  of  the  Saxon 
Church— His  Practical  Activity 59 

CHAPTER  V. 

Pietistic  Controversies— Spener's  DiflBculty  with  the  Elector— His 
Call  to  Berlin 68 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Spener  as  President  of  the  Consistory,  and  Provost  at  Berlin— 
Pietistical  Extremes— The  Confessional— Pietistic  Controversy 
—Attempts  at  Church  Union 74 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Spener's  Private  Life— His  Last  Davs  and  Death     85 

(3) 


Buflust  Ibermann  iPrancftc  anD  Ibis  TimorR. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 
CHAPTER  I. 

Francke's  Youth  and  Student  Life 93 


CHAPTER  II. 

Francke  as  Preacher  and  Pastor  at  Erfurt— University  of  Halle- 
Franc  ke  as  Professor  and  Pastor  at  H  alle— The  Pietists  ...   104 


CHAPTER  III. 
Francke  as  Philanthropist  and  Educator 112 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Francke's  Work  in  Bible  Distribution  and  Missions 133 

CHAPTER  V. 

Francke's  Domestic  Life,  His  Last  Days  and  Death 140 

(4) 


PHILIP  JACOB  SPENER 
AND  HIS  WORK. 


CHAPTER  I. 

COXDITIOX    OF    THE    LUTHERAN  CHURCH  IN  GERMANY 

AT  THE  TIME  OF  SPENER'  S  BIRTH HIS  YOUTH  AND 

EDUCATION — HIS     MARRIAGE HIS     PASTORATE     IN 

STRASBURG,   AND  CALL  TO  FRANKFORT. 

The  Peace  of  AA'estphalia  had  settled  the  rights 
of  rehgious  parties  in  Germany  ;  but  the  Reform- 
ers were  dead,  and  the  fervent  spirit  that  had 
stirred  them  to  action,  and  to  sacrifice,  had  been 
quenched  in  the  long  struggle  for  religious  liberty. 
The  Church  had  become  the  heritage  of  a  genera- 
tion of  warriors,  who,  while  they  preserved  and 
protected  her,  had  developed  those  j^assions 
which  destroyed  her  inner  life. 

The  Protestant  Church  was  divided  into  two 
great  parts  :  the  Lutheran  and  the  Reformed,  and 
these  fell  into  bitter  and  intolerant  controversies 
with  one  another,  wdiile  the  entire  Protestant  body 
was  engaged  in  disputes  with  the  Romish  Church. 

Although  wars  had  ceased  because  of  the  coun- 
try's exhaustion,  the  hatred  and  bitterness  en- 
gendered by  them  survived,  and  was  voiced  in 
pulpit  and  school,  wherever  men  taught  or 
preached  or  wrote.  In  protecting  the  truth,  the 
people  had  lost  that  chief  treasure  with  which  re- 
(5) 


6  SPENER   AND   HIS    WORK. 

ligious  truth  is  designed  to  endow  the  human 
heart — brotherly  love. 

The  follower  of  a  great  benefactor  moves  for- 
ward developing  his  work.  The  imitator  stands 
immovable  and  only  poses  beside  it.  During 
the  century  which  succeeded  their  death,  the  Re- 
formers had  no  followers.  No  one  received  again 
the  fervent  and  creative  spirit  of  their  action. 
They  had  ready  imitators,  Avho  clung  to  the  dry 
husks  of  an  empty  faith,  finding  the  letter  where 
their  heroic  predecessors  had  found  the  spirit. 
These  made  of  Luther's  glorious  theology,  which 
had  been  framed  as  an  expression  of  inner  life,  a 
philosophy  of  religion,  whose  importance  was  its 
correct  and  orthodox  expression,  and  its  intel- 
lectual apprehension,  rather  than  its  influence 
upon  life  or  conscience.  Luther  and  Calvin  were 
quoted  oftener  than  Christ  and  Paul.  The  Scrip- 
tures were  forgotten  for  the  creeds,  and  those 
sources  of  spiritual  enlightenment  from  which 
should  have  flowed  broad  streams  of  truth  became 
as  stagnant  wells  of  bitter  waters. 

Much  time  was  devoted  to  study,  but  complaint 
has  been  made  that  the  study  was  desultory  and 
objectless,  and  that  the  scholarship  of  the  time 
was  superficial.  The  moral  tone  of  the  schools 
and  universities  was  extremely  low,  and  the  can- 
didates for  the  ministry  presented  themselves  un- 
prepared in  both  mind  and  heart  for  the  duties  of 
the  sacred  office.  True,  many  wore  the  Doctor's 
title,  but  its  value  and  significance  was  relative. 
To  the  masses  the  Bible  had  come  to  be  a  closed 
book.  Its  use  in  the  schools  was  neglected,  or,  if 
used,  the  most  cursory  reading  sufficed.  Catechi- 
sation  was  almost  entirely  discontinued,  or  if  made 
use  of  at  all,  the  mere  committing  to  memory  of 
the  various  parts  was  all  that  was  thought  neces- 


SPEXER    AND    HIS    WORK.  7 

sarv.  The  preaching,  when  not  polemical,  still 
failed  in  the  qualities  necessary  for  the  edification 
of  the  people.  There  were  disagreements  as  to 
the  best  methods  of  sermonizing,  and  the  literary 
fashion  of  the  time  led  to  long  and  tedious  pur- 
suits of  unimportant  definitions  to  be  used  in  un- 
important exegesis,  Avhile  the  wants  of  the  people 
and  the  satisfying  truth  was  overlooked.  As  a 
relief  from  this*,  some  more  sensational  preachers 
expounded  one  of  Luther's  hymns,  related  a 
fanciful  allegory,  or  attacked,  bare-handed,  with- 
out pretense  of  cover,  some  minor  social  evil,  as 
an  extreme  of  dress  or  a  folly  of  conduct. 

True,  there  were  earnest  and  pious  men  who 
saw  with  distress  the  prevailing  evils,  and  sought 
to  remedy  them  in  the  true  way.  Chief  among 
these  were  Valentine  Andrea,  John  Arndt,  and 
the  two  Gerhards.  But  the  time  was  not  ripe  for 
any  decided  change,  and  while  the  life  and  works 
of  these  still  eminent  preachers  left  their  influ- 
ence on  individuals,  they  had  not  then  the  power 
to  stir  the  dead  unleavened  masses  of  the  church. 
In  order  to  quiet  the  restless  spirit  of  controversy 
and  rescue  the  suffering  church,  the  reigning 
princes  published  ordinances  concerning  certain 
baptismal  practices,  and  forbade  the  attendance 
of-  their  subjects  upon  certain  universities;  but, 
says  a  German  writer,  the  corruption  of  the  Luth- 
eran Church  lay  too  deep  to  be  affected  by  ad- 
visory rules,  or  imperative  laws;  the  reformation 
of  her  offenses  was  not  to  be  required  at  the  hands 
of  princes,  but  was  only  to  be  worked  out  in  her 
own  inmost  heart  through  men  especially  in- 
trusted with  her  prosperity. 

The  first  and  most  prominent  of  these  was 
Philip  Jacob  Spener,  who  was  born  on  the  13th 
of  January,  in  the  year  1635,  at  Rappoldsweiler 


8  SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK. 

in  Upper  Alsace.  He  was  the  son  of  John  Phihp 
Spener,  who  was  a  native  of  Strasburg,  a  counselor 
at  law,  and  who  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of  this 
son,  was  private  counselor  and  Register  of  the 
reigning  Count  of  Rappoldstein. 

The  young  Philip's  parents  had  early  dedicated 
him  to  the  service  of  the  church,  and  as  he  grew 
up,  were  not  disappointed  in  the  child's  own  dis- 
position and  inclination.  No  small  influence  was 
exercised  in  this  behalf  by  his  baptismal  sponsor, 
the  Countess  Agathe  of  Rappoldstein.  Being  very 
fond  of  her  small  God-son,  she  had  him  often 
brought  to  her,  and  while  she  heaped  upon  him 
favors  and  benefactions,  accompanied  them  with 
loving  admonitions  and  pious  instruction. 

A  memorable  impression  was  left  on  the  boy 
by  the  death  of  this  excellent  woman,  in  his  13th 
year,  and  perhaps  the  impression  was  only  the 
greater  that  her  parting  injunctions  were  left  to 
his  childish  imagination  ;  for  though  called  to  her 
bedside,  she  was  already  deprived  of  speech,  and 
he  only  witnessed  her  painful  efforts  to  communi- 
cate to  him  what  was  in  her  heart  to  say. 

Naturally  of  a  gentle  and  retiring  disposition, 
he  was  grieved  and  touched  at  the  loss  of  this 
friend,  and  turned  from  her  death-bed  to  seasons 
of  prayer  and  faithful  reading  of  the  Bible. 
Later  he  busied  himself  with  Arndt's  True  Chris- 
tianity, and  books  of  like  character,  transposing 
some  favorite  portions  into  German  verse. 

His  education  was  begun  under  Joachim  Stall, 
wdio  was  then  Court  preacher  at  Rappoldstein,  and 
who  afterward  became  his  brother-in-law  by  mar- 
riage with  his  older  sister.  In  him  he  found  a 
teacher  both  learned  and  pious,  with  whom  he 
studied  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics,  and  Philo- 
sophical  Science,    and  who   guided   him  in   the 


SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK.  9 

study  of  History  and  Geography.  Stall  was, 
also,  a  line  preacher,  and  a  man  of  exemplary 
character.  He  taught  the  young  Spener  thor- 
oughly from  the  Catechism,  and  so  interested 
him  in  his  sermons  that  the  boy  took  notes  and 
even  copies  of  them,  thereby  learning  his  excel- 
lent and  practical  use  of  the  text,  which  was  then 
unusual. 

In  his  fifteenth  year  Spener  was  sent  to  Colomar 
to  his  maternal  grandfather,  from  whence  he  at- 
tended the  Gymnasium  (College)  for  one  year. 
Here  he  studied  the  Ancient  Languages,  Philos- 
ophy, Debating,  and  Elocution,  especially  de- 
lighting in  the  last  two  studies. 

In  1651  he  was  entered  as  a  student  at  the 
University  of  Strasburg,  where  his  uncle  Rebhahn 
was  a  Professor  of  Jurisprudence.  His  home 
was  in  the  house  of  his  uncle,  who  was  able  in 
many  ways  to  assist  him.  It  was  here  with  great 
eagerness  that  he  entered  upon  those  studies  that 
were  especially  preparatory  for  his  theological 
course.  Along  with  Philology,  History  and  Phil- 
osophy, he  read  the  writings  of  the  ancient  his- 
torians, especially  those  in  the  old  German.  He 
made  unusual  progress  in  the  Hebrew  and  Arabic, 
and  used  these  languages  to  delve  into  the  sacred 
lore  of  the  East.  He  was  also  especially  im- 
pressed by  the  reading  of  Hugo  Grotius'  Rights  of 
War  and  Peace,  and  the  influence  of  this  cele- 
brated book  afterward  affected  his  preaching  and 
the  treatment  of  his  polemical  adversaries. 

In  his  18th  year,  after  having  held  a  dis- 
putation '5id4k-  Thomas  Hobbes,  in  which  he 
distinguished  himself,  he  was  made  a  Master  of 
Philosophy  by  the  faculty  of  his  university. 

During  this  time,  we  find  that  these  studies 
were   but   incidental   to   the   study    of   the   New 


10  SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

Testament,  which  remained  the  chief  object  of  all 
his  student  labors  until  in  the  year  1654  he  com- 
menced the  proper  study  of  Theolugy.  The 
professors  who  guided  his  theological  studies 
were  Sebastian  Schmidt  and  Conrad  Dannhauer; 
and  these  men,  especially  the  latter,  exerted  an 
influence  upon  him,  which  colored  and  directed 
his  entire  future  life. 

Early  in  the  beginning  of  his  theological 
studies,  two  young  princes  of  the  Palatinate, 
Christian  and  Ernest  John  Charles,  were  entered 
at  the  University,  and  Spener  was  placed  over 
them  as  tutor.  Prior  to  this  the  young  theologue 
had  lectured  as  Privat-Docent  on  Logic  and  Meta- 
physics; but  the  care  of  the  young  princes  made 
it  necessary  to  discontinue  these  lectures  and  to 
take  up  in  their  stead  History,  Geography  and 
Genealogy.  While  these  duties  as  tutor  inter- 
fered with  his  study  of  theology  much  more  than 
was  agreeable  to  him,  he  found  his  lectures  so 
well  attended  that  the  fees  of  his  hearers  afforded 
him  a  comfortable  living.  This  was  the  more 
acceptable,  as  his  parents  were  unable  to  support 
him  fully  at  the  University,  and  because  he 
hoped  in  the  future,  through  this  same  means,  to 
continue  his  studies  in  the  Saxon  universities. 

In  1656  the  young  princes  were  sent  to  France, 
and  Spener  was  invited  to  accompany  them  and 
continue  his  course  of  instruction.  On  many 
accounts  he  would  gladly  have  accepted  this  offer; 
but  he  was  led  to  decline  it  by  reason  of  his  de- 
sire to  devote  his  time  to  theology  and  the  con- 
tinuation of  his  lectures,  in  which  decision  he  was 
encouraged  by  his  professors,  Dannhauer  and 
Schmidt. 

Meantime,  we  find  the  young  man  not  only 
developing  in  mind  and  coming  into  notice  fur 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK.  11 

his  mental  attainments,  but  also  for  his  peculiar 
spiritual  gifts  and  strict  piety.  Prior  to  the  be- 
ginning of  his  academical  life,  and  afterward  by 
letters,  he  had  been  especially  instructed  and  ad- 
monished by  his  tutor  Stall,  in  regard  to  the 
keeping  of  the  Sabbath.  This  earnest  man  had 
repeatedly  begged  his  charge  not  only  to  refrain 
from  everything  of  worldly  interest  and  unholy 
appearance  on  that  day,  but  to  put  aside  entirely 
those  theological  studies  which  were  calculated  to 
make  one  more  learned,  but  not  more  pious. 
Following  this  advice,  Spener  attended  regularly 
the  services  of  the  church,  being  especially  pleased 
with  the  preaching  of  one  of  the  professors  of  the 
university,  John  Schmidt,  whose  pastoral  care 
and  counsel  he  frequently  sought.  After  Sunday 
services  it  was  his  custom  to  read  only  such  books 
as  tended  to  spiritually  edify,  or  to  gather  about 
him  a  few  friends  who  joined  him  in  the  singing  of 
hymns  and  the  discussion  of  various  Bible  topics. 

In  the  year  1655,  Spener  preached  his  first  ser- 
mon in  the  neighborhood  of  Strasburg  from  Luke 
i.  74,  75,  and  often  spoke  afterward  of  his  joy  in 
at  once  finding  that  especial  happiness  in  preach- 
ing the  Word  of  God  that  he  had  anticipated,  and 
Avhich  ever  afterward  continued  with  him  through 
the  years  in  which  he  exercised  his  ministerial 
office. 

But  as  Spener  advanced  in  learning  and  m 
spirituality,  he  wished  the  more  to  enjoy  the 
broader  culture  of  the  various  universities,  and, 
therefore,  in  the  year  1659  he  left  Strasburg  and 
went  to  Basle,  where  he  held  forth  as  Privat  Doceiit 
in  the  same  line  of  lectures  which  he  had  pursued 
in  Strasburg,  and  in  which  he  met  with  dis- 
tinguished success  and  public  approval.  Here 
he  placed  himself  under  the  celebrated  John  Bux- 


12  SPENER   AND   HIS   WORK. 

torf  as  a  student  of  the  Eastern  languages,  and 
also,  on  the  occasion  of  a  University  Jubilee  of 
this  old  university,  took  part  in  its  first  historical 
disputation. 

Later  on,  after  stopping  for  a  time  in  Freiburg, 
he  went  to  Geneva  with  the  intention  of  traveling 
into  France,  but  was  here  attacked  with  an  illness 
of  such  severity  and  duration  that  he  was  left  too 
weak  for  travel,  and  because  of  his  mother's 
anxiety  for  his  health  (his  father  being  now 
dead),  he  traveled  no  further  than  Lyons,  from 
whence  he  returned  to  Geneva. 

During  his  stay  in  Lyons  he  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Claude  Menestrier,  who  was  a  celebrated 
diplomatist,  and  a  connoisseur  of  heraldry. 
Spener  made  use  of  this  opportunity  to  study  by 
his  aid  more  deeply  into  the  closely  related  field 
of  Genealogy,  which  he  had  been  required  to 
teach.  But  more  important  was  his  acquaintance 
in  Geneva  with  Anton  Leger,  a  professor  of  The- 
ology, who  had  been  preacher  to  a  late  Dutch 
Ambassador  to  Constantinople,  and  who  assisted 
him  in  his  historical  studies  to  a  better  knowledge 
of  the  establishment  of  the  Greek  Church,  and  the 
efforts  and  end  of  the  patriarch,  Cyrillus  Lukaris. 
This  professor  had  also  been  born  a  Waldensian, 
and  was  able  to  inform  Spener  fully  as  to  the 
history  and  condition  of  this  sect.  There  was 
yet  another  Genevan  acquaintance  who  exercised 
no  small  degree  of  influence  on  Spener' s  future 
life ;  this  was  John  von  Labadie,  a  preacher 
whose  edifying  sermons  and  efforts  for  the  puri- 
fying of  the  corrupted  church  at  once  attracted 
the  enthusiastic  young  man,  who  already  had  in 
view  the  same  kind  of  activity.  While  his  per- 
sonal association  with  the  great  preacher  Avas  but 
limited,  he  conceived  for  him  so  great  a  respect 


SPEXER   AND    HIS    AVORK.  13 

that  he  translated  some  of  his  writings  from  the 
French  into  German,  which  translation  was  after- 
ward published,  passing  through  two  editions. 
This  admiration  for  Labadie,  however,  afterward 
brought  reproach  upon  Spener,  when  the  former 
fell  under  the  disapprobation  of  the  conservative 
church  partly  for  his  continued  efforts  in  the  di- 
rection of  church  reform. 

During  his  stay  in  Geneva  Spener  was  received 
with  intimacy  and  friendship  by  the  professors  of 
the  university  and  the  higher  social  circles  of  the 
town,  but  returned  to  Strasburg  to  resume  his 
interrupted  theological  studies,  feeling  gratefully 
conscious  of  the  benefits  resulting  from  his  stay 
there. 

Not  long  after  his  return  to  Strasburg,  he  was 
required  by  the  Count  of  Rappoldstein  to  accom- 
pany him  in  a  journey  to  Stuttgart  in  order  to 
attend  the  Avedding  of  a  Princess  of  Wiirtemberg 
with  an  East  Friesland  Prince.  Here  he  was 
presented  to  the  Grand-Duke  Eberhard,  the  ducal 
family  and  other  persons  of  distinction  and  high 
degree,  by  whom  he  was  well  received  and  who 
expressed  a  wish  that  he  should  remain  in  that 
part  of  the  country  and  make  Wiirtemberg  the 
field  of  his  future  labors.  Indeed  he  really  went 
to  Tubingen  for  a  few  months  and  read  lectures  ; 
but  while  he  was  yet  considering  as  to  his  future 
course,  he  received  a  call  to  a  pulpit  in  Strasburg. 
This  was  a  charge  of  great  prominence,  requir- 
ing a  large  amount  of  pastoral  work.  The  young 
preacher  held  so  high  an  idea  of  the  pastoral  duty 
and  found  himself  so  conscientious  regarding  the 
perfect  administration  of  such  a  position  that  he 
doubted  his  ability  to  perform  properly  its  duties. 
He  feared  that  he  should  fail,  both  'in  physical 
strength  and  the  necessary  mental  and  spiiitual 


14  SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK. 

gifts.  He  sought  the  counsel  of  friends,  and  was 
so  far  persuaded  to  accept  the  call,  that  he  re- 
turned to  Strasburg  to  examine  more  fully  the 
proposed  field  of  labor.  But  when  he  had  done 
this,  and  had  considered  the  entire  circumstances, 
he  felt  that  the  work  presented  too  many  diffi- 
culties to  warrant  him  in  undertaking  it.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  following,  he  remained  in  Strasburg 
studying  privately  and  holding  public  lectures. 
He  expected  to  return  to  Wiirtemberg  early  in 
the  year;  but  in  March,  IG60,  through  the  inter- 
vention of  Dannhauer,  he  was  offered  second 
place  in  the  ministry  of  the  city. 

This  position  would  require  the  public  preach- 
ing of  God's  Word,  an  activity  for  which  he  now 
heartily  longed,  but  it  left  him  free  from  all  pas- 
toral duties,  and  afforded  him  time  for  the  further 
pursuit  of  his  theological  studies. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  his  friends  in  Strasburg 
hoped  by  this  call  to  win  him  at  once  to  a  per- 
manent professorship  in  the  university,  especially 
as  he  continued  the  reading  of  lectures  there  in 
his  old  lines,  to  which  he  finally  added  theology. 

In  1664,  following  the  advice  of  his  friends, 
among  them  his  former  teachers,  Dannhauer  and 
Schmidt,  he  passed  his  theological  examination, 
held  his  inaugural  disputation  and  took  his  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Theology. 

The  day  of  his  promotion  to  the  Doctorate 
was  also  the  da}^  of  his  marriage  with  Susanna 
Erhardt,  the  daughter  of  a  former  member  of  the 
Council  of  Strasburg,  and  who  had  been  early  left 
a  widow. 

His  marriage,  Spener  afterwaid  liimself  says, 
was  blessed  of  God,  to  whom  he  rendered  hearty 
thanks  for  so  true  a  helper  as  he  found  in  his  wife. 

She  was  of  kindly  and  loving  disposition,  pos- 


SPEXER    AND    HIS    WORK.  15 

sessing  a  warm  Christian  heart  and  a  capabiUty 
for  management  wliich  relieved  her  husband  of 
all  care  of  their  practical  affairs,  and  at  the  same 
time  made  his  household  an  exemplary  one. 
She,  herself,  became  an  ornament  and  honor  to 
his  position,  through  her  retired  and  correct 
course  of  conduct. 

Their  life  together  was  earnest,  but  gentle  and 
loving  ;  and  was  mutualh^  profitable  and  strength- 
ening in  the  duties  which  they  undertook.  EleX^en 
children  were  born  to  them,  six  sons  and  five 
daughters.  Five  of  these  died  before  the  father, 
two  of  the  sons  when  just  about  entering  honor- 
able positions  in  life  ;  but  the  other  six  continued 
a  joy  and  blessing  to  the  parents  to  the  end  of 
their  days.  One  daughter  married  Rechenberg, 
afterward  a  Leipzig  professor,  and  another  was 
married  to  a  pastor  named  Birnbaum.  Spener's 
household  was  also  gladdened  by  the  presence  of 
his  wife's  mother,  who  is  described  by  him  as  an 
excellent  Christian  woman  who  loved  him  as  her 
own  son. 

By  his  promotion  and  marriage  Spener  was 
now  in  most  promising  circumstances  for  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  of  his  chosen  ofhce.  For 
two  years  he  labored  therein  with  an  earnestness 
which  brought  the  most  gratifying  results  to  the  ' 
church  and  constantly  increasing  distinction  for 
himself.  But  now  came  a  call,  which,  though 
entirely  unsought  by  himself,  was  one  of  the  most 
important  events  of  his  life.  It  was  this  event 
that  shaped  his  entire  future  and  l)rought  him 
more  and  more  into  notice  before  the  religious 
world.  The  imperial  city,  Frankfort-on-the-Main, 
selected  him  as  first  pastor  of  the  city,  and  this 
position  carried  with  it  the  office  of  Senior  Coun- 
cillor of  the  Spiritual  INIinisterium.     In  all  the 


16  SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK. 

changes  of  Spener's  life,  not  one  was  of  his  own 
seeking.  He  beheved  and  taught  that  the  min- 
ister must  be  called  to  his  office  by  God  through 
the  established  agencies  of  the  Church  without 
any  advances  of  his  own  toward  the  office.  He 
further,  fearing  the  involuntary  influence  of  self- 
interest,  believed  that  others  than  the  candidate 
should  decide  upon  his  fitness  and  worthiness  for 
the  proffered  position,  and  that  the  final  decision 
must  rest  alone  upon  the  promise  of  increased 
benefit  to  Christ's  kingdom,  and  that  the  personal 
advantage  of  the  man  and  the  preacher  should 
have  no  weight  in  the  conditions. 

What  wonder  then  that  Spener  doubted  the 
wisdom  of  this  call  and  his  ability  to  fulfil  its 
requirements?  He  was  but  thirty-oiie  years  of 
age,  and  those  who  would  be  his  colleagues  in 
office  were  grey-haired  and  elderly  men  who 
would  themselves  belong  more  properly  to  such  a 
position,  by  reason  of  their  wider  experience  in 
the  exercise  of  the  ministerial  office.  The  pas- 
toral charge  here  would,  also,  be  much  greater 
and  more  difficult  than  the  one  he  had  so  feared 
to  enter  upon  in  Strasburg.  Added  to  these 
difficulties  which  presented  themselves  in  this 
proffered  field  of  labor,  was  the  feeling  of  attach- 
ment to  his  present  position.  He  was  with  a  city 
which  had  been  the  home  of  his  parents,  and  had 
now  long  since  become  his  own;  it  had  also  af- 
forded him  the  kindest  support,  and  had  of  its 
own  free  will  called  him  to  a  position  that  still 
promised  much  for  his  future  usefulness. 

Unable  to  decide  for  himself  so  important  a 
step,  and  fearing  that  his  friends  might  be  influ- 
enced by  their  interest  in  him  to  overrate  his  fit- 
ness for  so  high  a  position,  he  left  the  matter  to 
be  settled  by  the  two  cities  of  Strasburg  and 
Frankfort. 


SPEXER    AND    HIS    WORK.  17 

To  this  end  he  addressed  a  communication  to 
the  City  Council  of  Strashnrg.  He  set  out  fully 
the  state  of  affairs,  and  gave  reasons  for  and 
against  his  acceptance  of  the  call,  begging  them 
to  decide  for  him  in  this  difficult  and  important 
matter.  The  Council  called  to  its  aid  the  theo- 
logical faculty  of  the  university,  and  by  them  in 
joint  conference  it  was  decided  that  the  call  was 
of  a  nature  that  demanded  his  acceptance. 
Spener  believed  this  to  be  the  voice  of  God,  and 
proceeded  to  obey  it.  On  the  3d  of  July  he  took 
public  leave  of  the  city  and  his  people  in  a  fare- 
well sermon  which  he  preached  in  the  Minster. 

The  cholera  was  raging  in  Frankfort,  but  this 
did  not  prevent  his  immediate  removal  there  with 
his  family.  The  20th  of  July  witnessed  his  de- 
parture from  Strasburg,  and  upon  his  arrival  in 
his  new  field  of  labor,  he  at  once  entered  upon 
its  duties,  which  as  yet  but  slightly  indicated  the 
breadth  and  importance  of  his  future  work  and 
its  ever  increasing  difficulties. 
2 


CHAPTER  II. 

SPENER  AS  SENIOR    OF    THE    MINISTERIUM  AT  FRANK- 
FORT— HIS     PREACHING     AND     EFFORTS     FOR     THE 

REFORM  OF  THE  CHURCH HIS  OPINIONS  ON  CHURCH 

GOVERNMENT. 

Spener  was  now  tlie  first  minister  of  the  chief 
capital  city  of  Germany,  and  all  eyes  were  turned 
upon  him.  Some  movement  was  expected  from 
a  man,  who,  though  so  young,  had  been  found 
worthy  of  so  important  a  position.  None,  how- 
ever, felt  the  importance  and  responsibility  of  the 
situation  more  than  he  himself. 

He  wished  to  assume  such  an  attitude  toward 
the  city  government  and  his  colleagues  as  should 
not  give  offense;  but  from  the  first  he  resolved  to 
carry  out  those  principles  which  promised  most 
for  the  enlargement  of  God's  kingdom.  He  de- 
cided to  hold  himself  aloof  from  the  worldly 
affairs  of  the  state,  and  to  show  to  the  govern- 
ment pro])er  honor  and  respect.  But  he  reserved 
to  himself  the  right  to  admonish  and  reprove  his 
rulers  in  the  matters  of  his  own  office  and  their 
own  spiritual  interest  when  necessary.  This  he 
hoped  always  to  do  with  all  possible  gentleness 
and  privacy. 

Toward  his  fellow-workers  in  the  Lord's  vine- 
yard, he  wished  to  show  the  hearty  love  which 
he  felt,  and  hoped  never  to  use  to  his  own  profit 
or  advantage  the  authority  with  which  he  was  in- 
vested. Especially  did  he  desire  to  leave  to  his 
(18) 


SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK.  19 

colleagues   the   utmost   freedom  of   thought  and 
judgment. 

By  his  preaching  he  aimed  at  the  uprooting  of 
the  prevailing  condition  of  worldliness  and  carnal 
assurance,  hoping  to  plant  in  its  stead  a  living 
and  fruitful  faith.  With  this  end  in  view,  he 
determined  upon  the  greatest  simjjlicity  in  his 
sermonizing,  and  a  close  personal  approach  to  the 
people  under  his  care,  hoping  to  direct  intelli- 
gently their  upbuilding  in  the  true  spiritual  faitli. 

On  the  first  of  August,  after  reaching  Frank- 
fort, he  appeared  before  his  people  in  his  first 
discourse.  He  chose  for  his  text  these  words 
from  Romans:  ''  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  for  it  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation 
to  every  one  that  believeth."  This  he  treated 
simply  and  clearly,  closely  following  the  text, 
explaining  the  power  of  the  Divine  AA^ord  and 
how  it  must  be  used  for  the  healing  of  souls.  He 
said  that  the  Gospel  must  make  Christians  and 
save  men,  that  it  could  not  do  otherwise.  So 
long,  therefore,  as  the  Gospel  had  freedom  and  an 
uninterrupted  course,  it  would  go  well  with  the 
Church,  however  hard  and  miserable  her  outward 
circumstances  might  appear.  Since  this,  then, 
was  the  means  of  her  prosperity,  for  this  blessing 
should  God  be  continually  invoked,  and  to  this 
object  should  the  deliberations  of  the  Church  be 
directed.  Further,  in  the  course  of  the  sermon, 
he  said:  ''But  as  the  Scriptures  and  the  preach- 
ing of  the  word  have  so  much  sacredness  and  so 
much  power,  the  exhortation  arises,  that  we 
habitually  regard  them  with  reverence,  and  bear 
in  mind  that  those  who  possess  the  Scriptures 
should  read  them  with  care  (since  he  does  dis- 
honor to  the  Gospel  who  will  not  permit  it  to 
exert  its  power),  and  those  who  read  it  should  do 


20  SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

it  with  devotion,  as  is  becoming  in  so  sacred  an 
employment. ' ' 

Again  he  said:  "Those  who  preach  the  Gospel 
should  reflect  that  they  speak  not  the  words  of 
men,  but  the  power  of  God.  They  should  be- 
Yv^are,  therefore,  lest  they  mingle  with  it  any 
thoughts  of  their  own,  and  thereby  corrupt  it, 
lest  they  neglect  to  go  about  it  with  reverence  and 
care,  and  read  it  as  the  word  of  God,  and  lest  they 
take  a  glory  in  preaching  sermons  without  due 
preparation;  for  as  far  as  is  consistent  with  other 
duties  they  should  study  them  with  care.  If  the 
Gospel  is  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  we  are  thereby  ad- 
monished, that  as  the  preacher  should  desire  to 
preach  nothing  else,  so  the  hearers  should  desire 
to  hear  nothing  else;  not  human  trilling  and 
merry  tales  to  produce  laughter  in  the  church; 
not  deep  speculation  which  none  of  the  hearers 
can  understand  (then  it  would  be  called  a  gospel 
of  over-wise  reason);  not  the  histories  or  empty 
services  of  the  saints  (then  it  might  be  called  the 
gospel  of  the  saints,  and  not  of  the  spotless  Christ) ; 
nor  yet  mere  morality;  for  although  it  is  proper 
that  morality  should  be  impressed  upon  the 
Church,  it  is  not  its  first  and  immediate  aim,  but 
is  to  be  awaited  as  a  result,  not  looked  to  as  a 
means.  The  heathen  had  as  correct  morals  as 
perhaps  Christians  can  ever  portray;  yet  they 
had  not  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and,  therefore,  knew 
nothing  of  its  saving  power.  Even  Jews  and 
Turks,  the  false  believers,  can  discourse  on  morals 
and  extol  them,  but  know  nothing  of  the  saving 
power  of  the  Gospel  and  its  correct  doctrines. ' ' 

"But,"  he  went  on  to  say,  "so  long  as  the 
Scriptures  merely  lie  upon  the  shelf,  and  are  not 
heard  or  read,  so  long  must  they  be  considered 
simply  as  standing  alone  on  the  page;  certainly 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK.  21 

tliey  could  not  be  in  such  a  case  the  power  of 
God,  but  a  dead  and  powerless  work.  The  ser- 
mon also  which  is  not  heard,  or  is  heard  inat- 
tentively;— there  it  lies  accurately  written  or 
printed,  3'et  it  has  not  such  power.  It  may  be 
compared  to  the  rod  of  Moses:  when  laid  aside  in 
the  evening  it  was,  j^erhaps,  a  mere  whip  or  stick; 
but  when  Moses  brought  it  forth,  and  used  it  ac- 
cording to  the  command  of  God,  it  was  the  instru- 
ment by  which  the  Almighty  performed  wonderful 
works.  Or,  it  was  like  a  great  organ  standing 
untouched  without  sound  or  song,  but  which 
played  upon,  became  alive  and  tuneful.  The 
power  is  there  that  is  able  to  bring  light  to  the 
human  heart,  to  convince  it  of  truth,  remove  its 
fettering  hardness,  to  awaken  faith  which  shall 
make  it  righteous  and  a  sharer  in  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  keep  it  strong  and  comforted  unto  tlie  end." 

"This,"  said  he,  "  is  the  power  that  is  hidden 
in  the  Word  of  God,  and  which  is  exercised 
through  it  when  received  into  the  hearts  of  men." 
Then  he  Avent  on  to  show  the  necessity  of  a  proper 
reception  of  the  word,  the  conditions  which  pre- 
vented it,  and  the  preparation  and  conduct  of 
life  Avhich  would  permit  the  word  to  operate  on 
the  heart  and  mind. 

Such  a  sermon  would  seem  common  enough  if 
])reached  now  at  the  close  of  the  19th  century; 
but  so  near  tlie  middle  of  the  17th  centur}^,  when 
the  people  were  accustomed  to  listen  to  long  and 
bitter  discourses  against  heretics,  dry  essays  on 
morality  or  tedious  discussions  of  non-essential 
doctrines,  drawn  out  to  the  finest  point  in  care- 
fully studied  definitions,  sharpened  to  turn  the 
edge  of  some  adversary's  steel,  this  sort  of  preach- 
ing, founded  on  the  Divine  AVord,  without  ora- 
torical   or   rhetorical  display,    and   rising,    as    it 


22  SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

manifestly  did  from  a  heart  fervent  and  alive 
with  faith,  made  a  deep  impression  upon  his 
hearers. 

This  was  a  type  of  all  his  future  sermons,  l)y 
the  use  of  which  he  so  materially  improved  the 
wretched  style  of  the  pulpit  oratory  of  his  time. 
Even  at  the  present  time  much  might  be  learned 
from  the  earnest  simplicity,  the  strict  adherence 
to  scriptural  truth  by  which  he  stirred  the  hearts 
of  his  people  and  the  admirable  application  of 
the  same  to  the  known  condition  and  circum- 
stances of  his  hearers.  Yet  his  sermons  were  in 
a  language  not  then  developed  to  give  expression 
to  the  highest  culture,  and  were  often  necessarily 
of  a  rambling  length  that  would  not  in  these  days 
be  suffered  in  the  pulpit.  This  latter  fault  was 
doubtless  owing  to  the  neglected  state  of  popular 
religion,  which  required  minute  explanations  of 
simple  doctrines  and  passages  of  Scripture  that 
should  have  been  familiar.  But  Spener's  preach- 
ing arose  from  quite  another  source  than  that 
which  the  scholastic  treatment  of  theology  pre- 
vailing at  that  time  could  furnish.  His  own 
piety,  nourished  by  the  early  teachings  of  Stall, 
and  later  by  the  fervent  spirit  of  Dannhauer  and 
Schmidt,  and  his  constant  study  of  the  Scriptures, 
sought  its  own  expression. 

He  had  never  heard  of  homiletics,  much  less 
studied  them,  so  that  he  was  not  confused  by  the 
various  methods  of  sermonizing.  He  says  re- 
garding methods,  that  he  had  allowed  himself  to 
forget  that  he  had  ever  studied  Elocution  or  Ora- 
tory; that  he  never  observed  the  form  of  a  sermon 
which  he  heard,  but  only  the  excellent  things 
contained  therein.  "  For,"  said  he,  ''it  must  be 
the  Gospel  which  points  out  the  way  to  Christ's 
children.  These  words  of  grace  are  like  the 
blessed  dawn  pregnant  with  sweet  dews. ' ' 


SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK.  28 

The  failures  of  form  in  bis  sermonizing  he  knew 
full  well,  saying  that  he  "was  unable  to  bring  him- 
self Avithin  acceptable  brevity.  He  had  not  the 
gift  of  nervous,  direct  address.  His  power  lay  in 
the  broad  and  complete  working-out  of  his  text. 
His  sermons  were  all  carefully  Avritten  and  thor- 
oughly studied  before  preaching.  The  slightest 
changes  in  the  pulpit  reading  were  carefull}^ 
noted  as  emendations  on  his  return  home.  This 
care  and  his  usual  use  of  manuscript  was  no  doubt 
due  to  the  teaching  of  his  old  preceptor  Schmidt, 
who  impressed  upon  him  the  proverb:  "  Z)«.s%s 
Junge  Bldttler  alte  Bettler  gaben,^^  and  admonished 
his  pupils  continually  as  to  care  and  industry  in 
the  preparation  of  sermons. 

Spener's  preaching  was  largel}"  attended,  and 
did  not  fail  to  show  the  hoped  for  fruits  among 
his  hearers.  At  first  he  preached  after  the  usual 
Lutheran  custom  from  the  gospel  for  the  day;  but 
after  a  time  he  complained,  of  feeling  limited  b}" 
thus  adhering  to  the  Perilfope,  since  the  people 
did  not  receive  enough  of  the  Word  of  God  to  un- 
derstand it  intelligently  in  its  breadth  and  fulness. 
Yet  he  feared  to  repulse  and  confuse  his  hearers 
by  a  decided  departure  from  this  custom,  and 
sought  another  method  by  which  they  might 
hear  more  of  the  Scripture  without  offense.  To 
this  end,  therefore,  he  so  separated  the  intro- 
ductions from  the  sermons  proper  that  they 
formed  by  themselves  a  regular  series  of  propo- 
sitions on  various  doctrines.  He  then  went  on 
through  the  Epistles  of  Paul  to  the  Romans  and 
Corinthians  in  a  condensed  manner,  and  after- 
wards the  Ei)istles  to  the  Ephesians,  Colossians 
and  Galatians,  explaining  them  verse  by  verse. 
When  he  took  up  his  regular  text  he  drew  from 
it  a  theme  to  the  aid  of  which  he  brought  refer- 


24  SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK. 

ences  from  the  New  Testament,  which  were  not 
contained  in  the  Perikope.  So  he  strove  not  only 
for  the  edification  of  his  hearers,  but  he  led  them 
to  the  true  sources  of  Christianity  and  the  means 
by  which  they  might  of  themselves  advance  in 
righteous  life  and  character. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  Spener  discovered 
that  the  great  cause  of  failure  in  these  his  aims, 
was  the  inabihty  of  his  people  to  understand 
preaching.  This  he  believed  to  be  due  to  a  lack 
of  doctrinal  instruction  and  knowledge  of  the 
whole  Scripture,  and  he  at  once  concerned  him- 
self about  remedying  this  evil.  The  Catechism 
was  taught  in  Frankfort,  it  is  true;  but  in  a 
negligent  and  merely  formal  manner.  Spener 
held  a  consultation  with  his  colleagues  in  office 
as  to  how  the  character  of  this  teaching  could  be 
changed.  It  was  decided  among  them,  that  in 
the  afternoon  services  the  same  material  should 
be  treated  that  should  be  afterward  explained  in 
the  catechetical  classes,  and  as  the  afternoon  ser- 
vice was  usually  but  sparsely  attended,  he  him- 
self undertook  to  make  of  the  catechism  lesson  an 
introduction  to  his  regular  morning  sermon. 
Thus  catechetical  teaching  became  a  part  of  the 
service  before  the  regular  preaching.  In  this 
way  he  succeeded  in  interesting  not  only  the 
young,  but  those  in  whose  charge  they  were,  who 
began  now  more  earnestly  to  interest  themselves 
in  the  preparation  of  their  children  and  servants 
for  church  membership,  and  even  to  attend  with 
them  the  open  courses  of  catechetical  instruction. 
It  became  the  custom  to  bring  Bibles  to  the 
church  that  his  excellent  explanations  might  be 
closely  followed;  and  with  this  interest  once 
aroused,  the  reading  of  the  Scripture  in  the  home 
and  the  worship  together  of  the  assembled  family 
became  more  the  custom  than  hitherto. 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK.  25 

Spcner  possessed  a  special  gift  for  Bible  teach- 
ing and  catechisation,  and  though  at  first  his 
catechetical  lectures  were  attended  more  especially 
by  children  and  those  preparing  especially  for  the 
first  communion,  one  after  another,  all  ages  and 
classes  of  people  became  interested  and  attracted 
until  the  congregation  became  as  large  as  at  the 
regular  preaching  service.  Many  even  confessed 
to  more  spiritual  help  than  they  found  in  the 
other  services.  Spener  continued  this  exercise 
every  Sunday  afternoon,  exerting  himself  in  all 
ways  to  establish  and  broaden  an  institution 
which  he  believed  to  be  the  chief  means  of  build- 
ing up  anew  the  languishing  Church.  Frankfort 
was  a  great  commercial  city,  and  was  much  vis- 
ited by  the  traveling  public,  especially  at  the  time 
when  the  commercial  fairs  Avere  held  there,  with 
all  that  pomp  and  splendor  of  united  Europe. 

Even  these  visitors  were  at  last  drawn  by  the 
increasing    reputation     of    this     diligent    young  -^ 
preacher,     to     attend    his    catechetical    lectures.    ,^. 
One,     a    certain    Baron    von    Helmont,    greatly  ^| 
praised  his  work.      But  he  also  gave  utterance  to^'  " 
the    doubt    that    this    intellectual    apprehension 
would  really  not  bring  forth  good  results  in  the 
life  and  disposition.     He  ended  his  remarks  with 
the   question:    "How   can   we  transfer  the  head 
into  the  heart?" 

These  words  stung  the  earnest  Spener  to  the 
heart,  and  he  once  more  considered  how  he  might 
most  effectively  use  the  Scriptures  to  produce 
holy  living. 

He  was  induced  by  his  friends  to  publish  his 
catechetical  discourses  in  the  form  of  questions 
and  answers  under  the  title  of  "A  Simple  Expo- 
sition of  Christian  Doctrine,  after  the  order  of 
Luther's  Smaller  Catechism."      This  work  was 


26  SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK. 

favorably  received  throughout  Germany,  and 
measurably  supplanted  the  less  perfect  compends 
then  in  use. 

In  its  introduction  he  pointed  out  to  parents 
and  teachers  its  proper  use,  and  strove  to  impress 
upon  them  that  it  was  not  designed  to  store  the 
memory,  but  to  enlighten  the  mind  and  touch 
the  heart. 

His  colleagues  were  sensible  of  his  superior 
skill  in  catechising,  and  requested  him  to  furnish 
them  with  written  advice  upon  the  subject. 
Therefore,  in  1683,  he  published  his  "Cate- 
chetical Tables,"  which  were  extensively  used 
in  religious  instruction. 

Spener  had  wished  that  the  attendance  upon 
and  the  delivery  of  catechetical  instruction  might 
be  ordered  by  law;  but  much  more  did  he  desire 
that  the  people  should  be  inclined  to  attend  freely. 
He  was  gratified  in  the  extreme  as  this  inclina- 
tion became  more  and  more  apparent. 

The  custom  of  confirming  the  young  in  the 
open  assemblages  of  the  church  had  fallen  into 
disuse,  and  the  service  of  confirmation  was  held 
privately  in  the  houses  of  those  who  wished  it. 
This  Spener  felt  should  be  changed,  and  the  cus- 
tom of  Reformation  times  in  regard  to  confirma- 
tion revived.  At  his  instance,  it  was  ordered  by 
law  that  all  confirmations  should  be  made  pub- 
licly and  in  the  churches  except  in  the  cities, 
where  it  was  thought  best  to  leave  it  optional. 
But  these  public  services  were  found  to  be  of  so 
much  spiritual  importance  that,  even  in  the  cities, 
they  became  more  and  more  the  general  custom. 

Always  concerned  for  the  highest  welfare  of  the 
rhurch,  and  active  in  its  spiritual  upbuilding, 
Spener  added  yet  another  public  service,  which 
produced  a  lasting  effect  upon  the  condition  of 


SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK.  27 

the  Church.  In  the  3'ear  IGGO  he  preachofl  a 
sermon  on  the  righteousness  of  the  Pharisees, 
showing  the  hyi^ocritical  and  merit-seeking  cliar- 
acter  of  the  Christianity  of  his  time,  and  reproving 
and  condemning  it,  as  it  well  deserved.  This 
caused  no  inconsiderahle  commotion  among  his 
people.  A  few  who  felt  themselves  offended 
complained  loudly,  declaring  that  they  would 
never  again  listen  to  his  preaching.  But  Spener 
had  aroused  his  people  from  their  imagined  se- 
curity for  a  purpose,  and  proceeded  to  carry  it 
forward  with  only  the  greater  determination  be- 
cause of  tlie  feeling  he  had  occasioned.  He 
pointed  out  the  ill  conditions  of  the  church,  but 
he  also  provided  a  remedy  which  he  believed 
would  cure  all  its  evils.  This  Avas  the  more  dili- 
gent use  and  study  of  the  Word  of  God.  Through 
this  means  he  hoped  for  a  more  complete  knowl- 
edge of  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith, 
wherewith  to  destroy  the  growing  confidence  in 
worldly  offices  and  the  merit  of  good  Avorks.  He 
believed  that  his  people  could  not  come  to  a 
sufficient  knowledge  of  the  Scripture  by  what 
they  heard  in  the  church,  unless  this  was  sus- 
tained by  piety  in  the  home  and  a  continuation 
of  scriptural  studies. 

He,  therefore,  encouraged  them  to  meet  in 
small  companies  at  various  houses  on  Sunday 
afternoon  for  Bible  study  and  the  discussion  of 
scriptural  themes  for  mutual  edification.  But 
fearing  that  these  assemblies  might  too  readily  be 
diverted  from  their  true  purpose,  and  that  they 
might  also  become  the  subject  of  remark  and 
suspicion,  he  proposed  to  bring  the  people  to- 
gether in  his  own  study  and  himself  to  undertake 
the  leadership  of  the  meeting.  In  all  this  he 
consulted  his  colleagues  and  met  with  their  ap- 


28  SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

proval  and  often  with  their  co-operation.  He 
did  not  think  it  necessary  to  consult  the  City 
Council;  but  they  were  soon  informed  of  the 
movement,  and  the  four  members  who  had  es- 
pecial oversight  of  the  church  expressed  their 
entire  approbation  of  the  movement. 

This  was  the  origin  of  the  Collegia  Pietatis,  which 
afterward  called  forth  so  much  bitter  criticism, 
but  which  was  in  part  the  means  of  a  great  change 
in  the  church  Ufe  of  the  people. 

At  first  the  meetings  were  attended  by  persons 
of  humble  character,  but  later  the  attendance 
became  general  and  greatly  increased,  and  in- 
cluded divines,  lawyers,  doctors,  merchants,  me- 
chanics, men  and  women  of  all  stations  and 
conditions  of  life.  The  greater  part  of  the  people 
came  as  listeners  only,  but  those  who  joined  in 
the  discussions  were  of  the  more  learned  and 
cultured  classes.  The  women  were  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  assembly,  sitting  where  they 
could  hear,  but  not  be  seen.  After  various  small 
changes  and  under  the  wise  leadership  of  Spener, 
these  meetings,  then  so  famous  for  their  novelty 
and  their  general  interest,  came  to  correspond,  in 
effect,  to  our  present  weekly  prayer-meeting. 
They  were  assembled  twice  each  week,  on  Mon- 
days and  Wednesdays.  At  the  former  time 
Spener  repeated  his  last  sermon,  further  explain- 
ing any  obscure  points,  inviting  questions  and 
correcting  misapprehensions,  while  the  latter 
meeting  was  devoted  to  prayer  and  the  expound- 
ing of  the  Scriptures.  All  this  Avas  done  with 
the  intent  of  awakening  a  more  intelligent  and 
active  Christianity. 

These  meetings  were  the  means  of  rich  blessings 
to  Spener' s  ministry  in  Frankfort.  At  first  they 
had   caused  some  uneasiness,  and  also  some  un- 


SPENER    AN'D   HIS   WORK.  29 

nleasant  and  slanderous  reports;  but  the  reports 

rov^nc^   false,    the    uneasiness   abated,    and    for 

some  time  these  pious  assemblages  met  ^vlth  gen- 

"•IftS'aTme,  however,  when  Spener  ean.e  to  be 
re4ded  as  a  reformer  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
meetings  of  this  character  became  general  through- 
out the  entire  Church.  Under  other  leadership 
and  doubtless  owing  to  the  undue  excitement  ot 
?ell  ous  reaction,  abuses  and  departures  frmn 
orcte  and  good  doctrine  crept  mto  some  of  the 
meetings,  and  the  good  which  resulted  was  not 

"TwV;is'time- there  appeared  a  new  edition 
of   Arndt's   Postils.      Spener  seized    the   oppoi- 
tuntv  to  write  an  introduction  to  the  book,  m 
which  he  gave  full  expression  to  those  desires  for 
a  holy  church  life  which  now  possessed  his  entire 
bein-      This  was  so  well   received  and   eagerly 
read" that  the  same  year  it  was  re-issued  m  the 
o™  of  a  tract  under  the  title  of  "  Pious  Desires 
or  heart-felt  longings  after  a  God-pleasing  better- 
ment of  the  true  Evangelical  Church,  with  so    e 
simple  Christian  propositions  to  that  end.        1   i^ 
was^ccompanied    by    two    treatises    upon    the 
subject,    by   his  two  brothers-in-law,    Stall  and 

In  The  short  introduction  to  the  work  Spener 
apolo<^izes  that  he,  still  a  young  and  unimportant 
tCogian,  should  appear  before  the  church  in 
so  weiShtv  a  matter,  and  then  proceeds  as  follows 
"Let  Ss  ill  together  do  that  which  is  required  of 
us  to  feed  the^flock  which  God  through  his  own 
blood  has  purchased.  Let  us  thmk,  dear  fatheis 
and  brethren,  what  we  have  P^-^^f  !:\^ °"'^,^°f 
whom  we  are  privileged  to  serve,  and  what,  there- 
fore, our  chief  care  should  be:  let  us  thmk  on  the 


30  SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

terrible  reckoning  with  him  that  awaits  us;  of  the 
unguarded  souls  that  he  will  require  at  our  hands; 
let  us  think  that  not  once  will  be  asked,  how 
learned  we  have  been  and  have  appeared  before 
the  world,  in  what  favor  with  men  we  have  lived 
and  what  favor  we  have  known  how  to  maintain,  in 
what  honor  we  have  moved  and  what  great  names 
we  have  left  behind,  how  much  of  treasure  and 
worldly  goods  we  have  laid  in  store  and  there- 
with called  curses  upon  ourselves,  but  rather 
with  what  sincere  and  simple  hearts  we  have 
striven  to  advance  the  kingdom  of  God,  with 
Avhat  pure  and  pious  doctrine,  with  what  Avorthy 
example  in  scorning  the  world,  denying  our- 
selves, taking  up  the  cross  and  following  our 
Saviour  we  have  sought  the  edification  of  our 
hearers.  With  what  eagerness  we  have  set  our- 
selves, not  only  against  error  but  against  godless 
lives;  with  what  constancy  and  joy  we  have  borne 
offenses  from  false  brethren  or  an  openly  godless 
world,  and  have  praised  God  in  our  suffering. 
Let  us,  therefore,  be  industrious  in  the  examina- 
tion of  ourselves  and  the  failures  of  the  Church, 
that  we  may  learn  the  afflicting  maladies,  and 
search  out  the  remedies  with  more  eager  calling 
on  the  Lord  for  his  Spirit's  light.  And  let  us 
not,  meanwhile,  stand  still,  but  let  us  attempt, 
each  in  his  own  congregation  as  he  may,  to  put 
to  use  those  means  which  seem  necessary  and 
profitable.  For  of  what  service  are  all  reforma- 
tory propositions  when  we  make  no  effort  to  live 
accordingly  ?  If  we  must  suffer  from  opposition, 
let  it  be  only  a  more  certain  sign  that  our  work 
pleases  the  Lord,  that  he  allows  it  to  be  so  tested, 
and  in  nowise  grow  weary  or  relax  our  zealous 
efforts.  What  is  impossible  for  men  is  possible 
for  God.     God's  hour  must  come,  if  we  will  but 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK.  31 

wait.  Must  others  bring  forth  fruit  in  patience, 
so,  also,  must  we,  and  also  require  it  of  others  in 
patience.  The  Lord's  work  moves  Avonderfully, 
even  as  it  is  wonderful,  but  even  on  that  account 
is  it  hidden  from  us,  the  much  more  certainly  lest 
we  neglect  it.  If  God  giveth  thee  not  the  joy  to 
behold  at  once  the  effect  of  thy  work,  no  doubt 
he  will  conceal  it  from  thee  lest  thou  shouldest 
boast  of  thyself.  There  standeth  grass  that  thou 
thinkest  to  be  unfruitful  grass,  keep  on  with  thy 
watering,  finally  therefrom  will  grow  timely  ears. 
Much  more,  let  us  commend  our  work  to  the 
father,  earnestly  praying,  and  be  satisfied  with 
such  success  as  he  permits  us  to  see.  Also,  let 
us  all  with  heart-felt  devotion  help  one  another, 
striving  with  prayer  and  pleading,  that  God  will 
here  and  there,  one  after  another,  open  the  doors 
of  the  Word  that  we  may  fruitfully  speak  of  the 
mysteries  of  Christ,  that  we  may  speak  gladly  as 
is  due,  and  glorify  his  name  by  teaching,  living 
and  suffering." 

The  little  work  itself  hegan  with  a  look  at  the 
completely  corrupted  state  of  the  Church,  with  a 
powerful  presentation  of  the  chief  prevailing  sins 
in  government.  Church  and  home  by  the  sight  of 
which  the  Jews  as  well  as  the  Catholics  were 
frightened  away  from  the  Evangelical  Church  on 
the  ground  that  it  could  be  no  true  church.  He 
showed  also  that  it  was  not  j^ossible  to  cover  its 
shame  by  calling  on  the  purity  of  its  doctrine, 
and  that  the  Reformation  begun  by  Luther  in  re- 
lation to  the  virtues  of  the  Christian  life  was  not 
yet  finished,  but  had  paused  in  the  middle  of  its 
course. 

Then  he  encouraged  the  abolition  of  these 
abuses,  supporting  himself  by  the  direction  of  the 
Scripture  for  the  coming  better  condition  of  the 


32  SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK. 

Church  on  earth,  which  should  be  followed  by  the 
return  of  the  Jews  and  the  fall  of  papistical  Rome. 
He  showed  that,  even  though  perfection  was  not 
to  be  reached,  it  must  yet  be  possible  to  bring  the 
Church  nearer  to  the  glorious  example  of  the  first 
Christian  congregation. 

As  the  first  means  to  this  end  he  recommended 
the  "abundant  spread  of  the  Word  of  God." 
"This,"  declared  Spener,  "is  the  true  source  of 
Evangelical  life,  which  though  so  fully  given  to 
the  public,  does  not  yet  flow  full  enough,  partly 
because  of  preaching  from  pre-determined  texts 
(the  Perikopes),  while  the  rest  of  the  Scripture 
remained  largely  untouched,  partly  because  of 
the  inability  of  the  hearers  to  understand  a  con- 
secutive sermon.  Therefore,  it  was  necessary  to 
make  the  study  of  the  Scripture  a  household 
duty,  and  this  he  thought  could  be  required  when 
occasionally  the  books  of  the  Bible  were  one  after 
another  read  in  the  church  with  some  cursory 
explanation.  He  thought  that  it  also  would 
prove  wholesome,  if  the  old  Apostolic  kind  of 
church  gatherings  were  again  to  become  custom- 
ary, that  there  might  be,  beside  the  usual  open 
church  service,  yet  another  assemblage.  Here  he 
hoped  that  besides  the  teacher,  others,  who  might 
be  prepared,  should,  under  the  oversight  of  a 
minister,  read  aloud  from  the  Scriptures  and 
voice  his  thoughts  and  doubts  concerning  it,  and 
from  others,  as  well  as  from  the  minister,  receive 
light  upon  it.  This  he  felt  would  tend  to  culti- 
vate confidence  between  pastor  and  people,  and 
also  among  the  people  themselves,  w^hen  guided 
by  a  wise  preacher.  He  hoped  also  by  this  to 
help  the  people  to  a  more  exact  knowledge  of  the 
Scripture  for  household  use  and  leadership,  as 
well  as  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  needs  of 
the  Church  and  greater  ability  to  correct  its  abuses. 


SPEXER    AND    IITS    WO^K.  33 

The  second  of  these  remedial  propositions  was 
the  sincere  and  industrious  exercise  of  the  spirit- 
ual priesthood.  Spener  here  refers  to  1st  Peter  ii. 
9,  saying  that  all  Christians  are  anointed  priests 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  without  exception,  and  stand 
in  the  spiritual  office,  so  that  in  case  of  need  they 
may  administer  its  duties.  ''  The  doctrine  of  the 
priesthood,"  said  Spener,  "is  the  chief  error  of 
th.e  Romish  Church,  while  it  is  as  well  the  chief 
support  of  their  power  over  the  laity  and  the 
means  by  which  they  are  kept  in  idleness,  vicious- 
ness  and  ignorance,  that  the  clergy,  in  their  pride, 
may  be  sustained  as  the  only  spiritual  authority. 
Luther  could  not  have  inflicted  a  greater  wound 
upon  the  Romish  Church  than  by  calling  all  Chris- 
tians anew  to  the  universal  priesthood;  because 
this  implies  that  one  may  have  especial  power  in 
searching  the  Word  of  God,  another  may  be  able, 
more  especially,  to  teach  his  household  compan- 
ions, to  admonish,  to  reprove,  to  comfort,  to  turn 
to  repentance,  to  edify,  to  watch  over  their  lives, 
to  care  for  their  piety,  and  to  do  all  that  in  pri- 
vate, which  belongs  to  the  public  service  of  the 
Church.  The  orderly  use  of  this  priesthood  does 
not  encroach  upon  the  office  of  the  preacher,  but 
is  rather  its  necessary  supplement,  and  quite  a 
different  condition  of  things  would  obtain  in  the 
Church  were  it  not  so  entirely  lost  sight  of." 

In  the  third  place,  he  would  require  the  incul- 
cation of  the  idea  that  Christianit}^  does  not  con- 
sist of  doctrine  alone,  but  much  more  of  spirit 
and  practice,  which  should  be  expressed  in  works 
of  unselfish  love,  submission  of  will,  abstaining 
from  revenge,  a  peaceful  mind,  which  would 
gladly  do  good  to  an  enemy,  and  which  to  these 
ends,  livecl  in  friendship  and  confidence  with  the 
pastor,  or  some  other  spiritually  enlightened  per- 
3 


34  SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

son,  that  they  might  the  better  receive  good  coun- 
sel and  advice. 

The  fourth  proposition  concerned  the  conduct 
of  religious  controversies  with  unbelievers  or  those 
in  error.  For  these,  Spener  recommended  sincere 
prayers,  good  example,  profound,  but  modest  ex- 
planation of  the  truth,  without  severity,  in  the 
exercise  of  Christian  love;  and  showed  that  the 
only  hope  for  union  of  the  various  divisions  of 
the  Christian  Church  lay  in  such  methods  as  God 
could  bless.  He  believed  that  disputation  was 
necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  pure  doctrine; 
but  he  condemned  the  tlien  prevailing  manner  of 
it,  which  brought  strange  fire  in  the  holy  place  of 
the  Lord;  and  which  biing  directed  more  fre- 
quently toward  the  overthrow  of  an  opponent 
than  the  search  after  and  defense  of  the  truth, 
broke  out  in  passionate  anger.  He  declared  that 
disputation  was  not  alone  the  means  of  preserving 
the  truth;  but  that  it  must  be  combined  with  love 
and  the  fervent  anxiety,  not  only  to  convince  one's 
adversary,  but  also  to  turn  such  a  conviction  to 
his  spiritual  profit. 

Above  all  he  desired  in  the  fifth  place,  for  the 
reform  of  the  Church,  an  entirely  different  educa- 
tion and  culture  of  the  divinity  students  in  the 
schools  and  universities.  He  wished  that  the 
teachers  and  professors  would  not  only  persevere 
in  the  "sharpening  of  the  golden  truth,"  but 
would  set  their  students  a  worthy  example  of  its 
living  results,  and  that  they  might  lay  stress  upon 
pious  lives,  as  well  as  diligence  in  study.  He 
advised  that  a  strict  watch  be  kept  over  the  morals 
of  the  student,  and  that  on  entering  upon  the^ 
study  of  theology  they  be  required  to  bring  evi- 
dence of  good  moral  character  as  well  as  of  suf- 
ficient learning.     He  thought  that  only  the  very 


SPEXER    AXD    HIS    WORK.  35 

best  of  the  students  should  ])e  taught  in  polemics, 
that  they  might  become  true  defenders  of  a  pure 
faith  ;  that  the  disputations  should  be  held  in  the 
German  language  rather  than  the  Latin,  but  that 
disputation  should  be  limited  to  essential  things, 
and  the  theology  be  brought  back  to  Apostolic 
sim})licity.  He  advised  more  of  Bible  study  for 
the  student  and  the  use  of  purely  pious  books, 
and  less  dogmatic  discussion  ;  also  the  occasional 
exercise  of  the  ministerial  office  in  teaching  and 
comforting  the  sick,  that  they  might  understand 
the  necessity  of  proper  preparation. 

The  sixth  and  last  proposition  related  to  better 
and  more  edifying  preaching.  He  condemned 
the  then  prevailing  custom  of  an  exhibition  of 
learning  in  the  pulpit,  quotations  in  foreign  lan- 
guages, and  the  artful  fitting  together  of  obscure 
disquisitions.  He  declared  that  Christianity  con- 
sisted of  the  new  creature,  in  whose  soul  the  ope- 
ration of  belief  brought  forth  fruit  in  the  life  ; 
that  it  was  not  enough  to  hear  the  word  with  the 
carnal  ear,  but  that  the  Holy  Ghost  must  be  heard 
therein,  and  that  the  preached  Word  must  sink 
into  the  heart.  He  declared  that  it  was  not 
enough  to  be  baptized  ;  but  that  men  must  hold 
fast  to  Christ  and  witness  to  him  by  righteous 
lives.  It  was  also  not  enough  to  receive  the  holy 
communion,  but  that  also  the  soul  therein  must 
be  nourished.  In  Hke  manner  he  spoke  of  prayer 
and  of  the  service  of  God  in  the  Church,  teaching 
that  all  true  service  was  but  the  expression  of  the 
inner  life,  and  that  anything  else  was  but  rank 
hypocrisy. 

Great  above  all  expectation  was  the  commotion 
which  this  little  treatise  produced.  Expression 
had  frequently  been  given  to  like  complaints  over 
the  corruption  of  the  Church,  sometimes  in  the 


36  SPEXER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

form  of  the  sharpest  polemics,  sometimes  as  the 
bitterest  satire;  but  never  with  the  gentleness  of 
deeply  Christian  spirit  striking  so  directly  at  the 
root  of  the  evil.  It  was  also  commended  by  the 
practical  propositions  for  reform  which  accom- 
panied it;  and  it  was  little  wonder  that  on  every 
hand  Spener  received  congratulations  and  letters 
of  approval  from  theologians  and  statesmen  anx- 
ious for  the  reform  of  church  conditions.  Moved 
by  this  work  of  Spener' s,  there  immediately  ap- 
peared others  of  the  same  character,  in  whole  or 
in  part  approving  of  his  plans  and  wishes.  These 
were  by  some  of  the  most  celebrated  theologians 
and  preachers  of  the  time,  among  whom  were 
Balthasar  Menzer  and  Benedict  Carpzov,  who 
afterward  became  his  bitterest  enemies. 

Among  these  were  some  who  would  not  give 
countenance  to  his  hope  for  the  return  of  the  Jews 
and  the  appearance  of  better  times  for  the  Church, 
and  complained  that  he  undervalued  the  scho- 
lastic theology.  Others  recalled  the  establishment 
of  the  Collegia  Pietatis,  and  fearing  that  they  would 
result  in  dangerous  abuses,  believed  that  it  w^ould 
be  well  if  they  were  forbidden  in  the  churches. 

But  more  important  than  all  written  opinions, 
was  the  fact  that  efforts  were  at  once  made  in  many 
places  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  propositions  for 
reform  by  men  of  noted  piety  and  ability.  In- 
deed, in  WiJxtemburg,  this  was  finally  ordered  by 
law. 

Spener  expressed  himself  as  greatly  encouraged 
that  so  many  of  his  contemporaries  had  felt  the 
condition  of  the  Church  and  experienced  the  same 
desire  concerning  it.  He  felt  that  his  own  efforts 
had  been  blessed,  and  that  his  humble  little  book 
had  become  an  awakening  voice  which  called  so 
many  together  in  this  good  work. 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 


37 


He  believed  as  the  movement  became  better 
known  throughout  Germany  and  its  northern 
provinces,  that  there  would  be  a  general  miprove- 
ment  of  the  Church,  and  he  expressed  a  hope 
that  each  in  his  place,  and  according  to  his  gilts 
and  opportunitv,  would  work  to  this  end. 

The  rich  blessing  which  attended  this  work,  had, 
with  manv  people,  produced  too  great  a  conscious- 
ness of  power,  so  that  its  good  results  were  too 
often  hindered  by  an  excess  of  enthusiasm.      But 
with  Spener  this  could  not  occur.     His  humility 
was  equal  to  his  power,  and  his  thoughtfulness  to 
lii'^  enthusiasm.     He  knew  but  too  well  that  a  gen- 
eral reformation  of  the  Church  was  a  tremendous 
work  in  which  the  help  of  the  government  was  ne-  . 
cessary,  and  that  this  aid,  under  the  existing  condi- 
tions, was  not  to  be  hoped  for.     He  foresaw,  and 
found  that  it  so  proved  in  all  his  after  experience, 
that  all  church  reforms  must  begin  with  the  pas- 
te rs   and  from  these  the  most  opposition  was  to 
be  expected.     He  had,  further,  already  found  that 
all  good  things  prospered  slowly,  and  that  many 
unforeseen   and    insurmountable   obstacles   must 
arise.     Therefore,    he    counseled    all    those   who 
would  act  upon  his  propositions,  to  move  carefully 
and  moderatelv,  and  especially  in  the  l;eginmng, 
not  to  go  to  anv  extremity  lest  later  the  movement 
might  in  its  noveltv  become  uncontrollable.     He 
warned  especiallv  against  an  attempt  immediately 
to    unite  the   various  parties  of   the   Church  bv 
these  efforts,  believing  that  in  this  way  all  good 
results  would  be  lost.     He  bade  them  remember 
that  good  fruit  was  not  to  l)e  expected  of  a  wild 
tree. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SPENEr's    controversies — HIS    SICKNESS — HIS    CALL 
TO  DRESDEN. 

During  the  summer  of  1676  Spener  gathered 
about  him  a  few  students  and  candidates  of  the- 
ology, and  read  the  Scripture  with  them.  They 
began  with  ihe  First  Epistle  of  John,  comparing 
the  German  translation  with  various  others,  and 
searching  out  the  meaning  of  each  passage.  Then 
they  considered  its  dogmatical  importance,  its 
practical  application  and  most  especially  the  edi- 
fication which  it  afforded. 

While  he  was  the  promoter  of  a  gradual  trans- 
formation of  the  Lutheran  Church,  he  did  not 
wish  to  be  considered  in  the  light  of  a  reformer, 
and  refused  to  listen  to  the  words  of  praise  which 
greeted  him  on  every  side. 

"I  know  well,"  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  "that 
the  work  of  Reformation  is  not  the  work  of  a  man, 
but  of  the  Lord  of  the  Church.  I  am  not  the 
principal  nor  shall  I  be  the  principal,  as  such 
gifts  are  not  mine.  It  is  more  honor  than  I  de- 
serve that  God  has  so  blessed  my  Pious  Desires, 
that  it  has  as  a  far-sounding  voice  awakened  and 
encouraged  some,  not  to  learn  of  me,  but  to  con- 
sider the  affairs  of  the  Church  according  to  their 
gifts  which  they  have  from  God,  and  which,  used 
in  his  service,  will  be  increased.  I  do  not  see  in 
this  awakening  that  God  will  have  more  for  me 
to  do  than  the  work  of  my  particular  congrega- 
(38) 


SPEXER    AND    HIS    WORK.  39 

tion,  unless  it  be  that  I  may  use  every  oppor- 
tunity to  encourage  the  simple-minded,  and  edif}- 
a  few  good  friends  through  our  mutual  corre- 
spondence. ' ' 

Again  in  1681  he  expressed  himself  much  in 
the  same  Avay:  "I  could  not  permit  myself  the 
folly  of  appearing  as  a  reformer  of  the  Church;  I 
realize  my  own  weakness  and  that  I  have  not  the 
wisdom  or  the  power.  Let  me  be  satisfied  that  I 
may  be  among  those  who  help  to  encourage  the 
reformation  which  the  Lord  intends."  And  three 
years  later,  he  says:  "In  the  great  work  of  the 
improvement  of  the  Church,  I  do  not  find  in  my- 
self at  all  the  necessary  ability.  I  will  say  noth- 
ing of  the  lack  of  scholarship  and  the  natural 
intellectual  gifts,  but  of  the  chief  failure  of  wisdom 
and  prudence,  which  I  so  often  experience  in  the 
peculiar  affairs  of  my  present  office,  that  I  am 
ashamed,  and  know  not  where  to  turn  for  counsel. 
How  would  it  be,  then,  should  I  attempt  to  adapt 
myself  to  a  higher  position  ?  Especially  do  I 
lack  the  power  of  God  from  on  high,  which  is 
very  weak  in  me,  and  my  natural  timidity,  even 
in  trifling  things,  is  so  difficult  to  overcome  that 
it  is  never  sufficient  to  undertake  those  things 
which  require  true  heroism.  I  lack  indeed  these 
witnesses  of  a  godly  call." 

These  declarations  were  not  empty  words,  but 
the  sincere  speech  of  a  man  who  measured  him- 
self and  his  work  by  Luther  and  like  heroes  of 
the  faith,  and  who,  aware  of  his  peculiar  disposi- 
tion, attempted  no  violent  tearing  down  and 
uj)building  of  the  Church,  but  a  gradual  and 
c^uiet  improvement. 

He  found  still  more  reason  to  decline  the  name 
of  a  reformer,  when,  after  the  appearance  of  his 
"Pious  Desires,"   he  found  it  praised  by  some 


40  SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

and  condemned  by  others.  Many  of  these  latter 
persons  did  not  openly  express  their  condemna- 
tion, but  announced  their  disaffection  by  vilest 
slanders.  Especially  were  his  house-meetings  a 
cause  of  displeasure  to  some  of  his  fellow-towns- 
men. Some  who  found  themselves  roused  from 
dreams  of  carnal  security,  declared  that  he  exag- 
gerated the  requirements  of  morality  to  an  extent 
beyond  the  reach  of  human  nature. 

Spener  had  long  suffered  all  manner  of  evil  at 
the  hands  of  such  people  in  Frankfort,  especially 
through  darkly  circulated  reports  concerning  him 
and  his  followers  and  their  meetings.  Now  when 
his  "Pious  Desires"  brought  these  meetings  into 
general  notice,  and  others  set  to  work  to  carry  out 
his  propositions,  there  was  anxiety  among  those 
theologians  who  were  offended  by  Spener' s  com- 
plaints, and  yet  had  no  desire  to  forsake  the  ease 
of  their  idle  orthodoxy.  Fearing,  also,  further 
innovations  which  might  finally  result  in  their 
disturbance,  yet  not  venturing  to  oppose  it 
openly,  they  set  afloat  the  most  adventurous  re- 
ports, and  also  received  and  spread  abroad  what- 
ever reached  their  ears  from  Frankfort  concerning 
Spener  and  his  work,  without  knowledge  or  proof 
of  their  truth. 

Throughout  Germany  were  carried  reports  of 
the  Frankfort  Quakers  and  Labadists:  how  they 
practiced  community  of  goods,  and  had  separated 
themselves  from  the  Church;  how  women  and 
servant  maids  preached,  learned  Greek  and  He- 
brew, and  taught  it  to  their  children;  how  all  of 
Spener' s  followers  wore  only  linen  clothing,  and 
might  be  known  by  thin,  sickly  and  bleached 
faces;  how  the  men  abused  the  women  because 
they  neglected  their  households  for  these  meetings; 
that  the  women  robbed  their  families  of  all  deli- 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK.  41 

cacies  that  they  might  consume  them  among  those 
friends;  how  finally  the  founder  of  this  disorder 
had  made  the  meetings  in  his  house  an  oppor- 
tunity for  theft,  had  been  charged  with  it  and 
suspended  from  office,  and  that  many  of  his  fol- 
lowers had  suffered  most  dishonorable  imprison- 
ment. Such  reports  as  these  came  to  Spenerlrom 
all  sides,  and  caused  him  in  1677  to  have  pub- 
lished a  pamphlet  entitled  ''A  letter  to  a  foreign 
minister  concerning  the  impressions  that  had  been 
spread  against  his  doctrines  and  the  so-called 
Collegia  Pietatis.''^  In  this  he  showed  the  ground- 
lessness and  falsity  of  these  accusations,  by  actual 
investigations  made  by  himself  and  his  colleagues, 
and  also  by  the  city  government,  through  properly 
signed  and  authenticated  statements.  Here  was 
direct  proof  of  a  very  opposite  condition  of  things, 
and  for  a  time  this  served  to  suppress  these  evil 
reports.  But  the  fire  was  only  smothered  and 
not  quenched,  nor  could  it  be,  while  there  was  a 
theological  bellows  in  the  neighborhood  which 
constantly  fanned  the  flame. 

Balthazar  Menzer,  chief  Court  preacher  in 
Darmstadt,  had  in  the  beginning  openly  approved 
the  ''Pious  Desires"  and  the  propositions  which 
it  contained;  but  he  suddenly  changed  his  mind, 
when  another  Court  preacher,  John  Winkler,  in- 
stituted assemblies  in  his  ,house  after  the  manner 
of  those  at  Frankfort.  Menzer  had  great  influ- 
ence with  the  Landgrave,  and  not  only  succeeded 
in  having  these  meetings  suppressed,  but  caused 
Winkler's  removal  to  Mannheim,  whence  he  was 
called  to  a  superintendency  at  Wernheim. 

In  the  meantime,  the  princely  privy  councillor 
at  Darmstadt,  Kriegsmann,  a  man  of  some  theo- 
logical ability  and  of  fine  Christian  character,  ap- 
peared as  a  defender  of  the  Collegia  Pietatis,  in  a 


42  SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

small  pamphlet,  entitled,  ' '  Christian  Symphony, ' ' 
in  which  he  attempted  to  show  from  Matthew 
xviii.  19,  20,  their  edifying  and  salutary  effect. 
In  this  pamphlet  were  some  allusions  to  Menzer 
and  his  preaching,  and  this  so  enraged  Menzer, 
that  he  caused  the  advance  copies  to  be  bought 
up,  and  at  the  same  time  had  warning  letters  sent 
to  the  Consistories  of  Darmstadt  and  Giessen,  and 
the  preachers  under  them,  commanding  that  noth- 
ing should  be  printed  for,  nor  against  the  question 
Avithout  special  permission.  Very  soon  thereafter, 
through  Menzer' s  influence,  Kriegsmann  Avas  re- 
moved from  his  position,  but  was  at  once  taken 
into  the  Court  of  the  Elector  of  the  Palatinate. 

Besides  this,  Menzer  did  not  cease  to  excite  the 
principal  residents  of  Frankfort  against  Spener, 
using  his  pen  for  the  spreading  of  various  slander- 
ous reports  and  warning  against  the  perils  threat- 
ening the  Church.  This  caused  Spener  no  little 
embarrassment.  He  felt  called  upon  to  publish 
a  clear  and  full  exposition  of  that  one  of  his 
propositions  which  he  had  considered  the  most 
important,  and  which  had  excited  the  most  oppo- 
sition to  him. 

This  he  did  in  the  pamphlet,  "  The  Spiritual 
Priesthood  briefly  described  through  God's 
Word. ' '  This  was  of  a  highly  popular  character, 
in  the  form  of  questions  and  answers,  supported 
by  many  Bible  references.  In  this  he  showed 
that  the  spiritual  priesthood  with  which  all  Chris- 
tians are  endowed  consists  in  the  threefold  office 
of  sacrifice,  prayer,  and  the  use  of  God's  Word. 
He  said  that  the  Christian  should  sacrifice  him- 
self and  all  that  he  possessed;  that  he  was  bought 
and  redeemed,  body  and  soul,  his  worldly  goods, 
his  desires  and  passions,  yes,  when  it  became 
necessary,  his  life;  that  he  must  pray  always  for 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK.  43 

his  fellow-beings,  and  that,  finally,  he  must  exer- 
cise the  office  of  the  Word.  This  may  not  con- 
sist in  a  special  call  to  preach;  but  in  the  use  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures  for  the  edification  and  com- 
fort of  one's  self  and  friends,  for  the  proof  of 
preaching  and  their  own  relief  lest  they  put  too 
great  faith  in  the  words  of  men,  taking  care  to 
avoid  anything  that  would  cause  disorder  in  the 
Church.  In  considering  the  sacraments,  he  con- 
fessed to  faith  in  their  administration  by  any 
Christian,  especially  the  rite  of  baptism,  in  cases 
of  necessity.  But  as  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  while 
he  counseled  that  no  one  should  serve  himself, 
yet,  one  might  be  allowed  to  do  so  who  was  in  the 
spiritual  enjoyment  of  faith,  and  desirous  of  its 
comfort,  in  the  absence  of  a  preacher. 

He  closed  the  whole  argument  on  the  universal 
priesthood  with  an  arra}^  of  authorities  taken 
from  the  church  fathers  and  also  from  more 
modern  writers,  but  especially  supported  by  ex- 
tracts from  Luther. 

This  little  work  made  a  favorable  impression 
and  helped  greatly  to  weaken  the  effect  of  the  evil 
reports  that  had  been  circulated.  It  was  much 
praised,  and  was  of  a  character  which  admitted  of 
no  criticism. 

But  a  young  theologian.  Dr.  Hanneken,  of 
Giessen,  a  nephew  of  Menzer,  and  instigated  by 
him,  brought  out  a  tract  on  the  "Necessity  of 
Doctrine,"  which  was  so  full  of  false  and  malicious 
references  to  Spener,  that  he  felt  called  upon  to 
reply.  But  Hanneken  was  questioned  by  friends 
of  Spener  in  Giessen,  and  declared  that  he  had  not 
aimed  these  references  at  him,  and  thus  the  con- 
troversy was  suppressed.  But  the  magistrates  of 
Frankfort  were  disturbed  by  all  these  movements, 
and  at  the  instance  of  Menzer  seem.ed  readv  to 


44  SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK. 

pass  such  ordinances  as  were  already  in  force  at 
Darmstadt. 

A  young  woman  of  noble  family,  who  had  been 
influenced  by  Spener  to  a  life  of  pious  works  and 
private  teaching  of  the  Bible,  was  commanded  to 
leave  the  city,  as  was  also  a  like-minded  and 
equally  active  young  man.  But  both  Avere  known 
by  Spener  to  be  innocent  of  wrong;  he  therefore 
required  them  to  appear  before  the  magistrates  to 
enter  protest  against  this  unrighteous  treatment, 
and  as  a  result  of  this  appearance  the  order  was 
not  enforced. 

Printers  and  book-sellers  were,  also,  com- 
manded to  print  nothing  of  a  religious  or  edify- 
ing character  without  special  examination.  When, 
therefore,  in  1678,  a  second  edition  of  the  "Spirit- 
ual Priesthood"  was  required,  its  issue  was  pre- 
vented by  the  Council,  who  finally  decided  to 
submit  the  book  to  one  of  the  universities  for 
examination.  This  was  opposed  by  the  entire 
Ministerium,  to  which  Spener  had  submitted  the 
book  before  its  first  appearance  in  2)rint,  and  by 
whom  it  had  been  approved. 

The  Ministerium  took  up  the  affair  as  its  own, 
and  complained  before  the  Council  of  the  infringe- 
ment of  its  authority.  But  they  received  no 
comfort  at  the  hands  of  the  Council.  The  pub- 
lisher, however,  was  able  to  obtain  the  desired 
permission  from  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  and  the 
circulation  of  the  book  was  no  longer  hindered. 

There  lived  in  Frankfort  at  this  time,  a  candi- 
date for  the  ministry  named  Franke,  the  son  of  a 
Frankfort  senator.  This  young  man  made  it  his 
business  to  stir  up  sentiment  against  Spener,  not 
only  by  the  circulation  of  slanderous  reports  in 
Frankfort,  but  by  libelous  letters  addressed  to 
such   theologians    as    were    already   inclined    to 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK.  45 

oppose  him.  This  al)use  was  doubtless  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  young  man  was  not  free  from 
suspicions  of  immorahty,  and  had  been  severely 
reproved  by  the  Ministerium  on  account  of  im- 
proper preaching,  for  unministerial  conduct,  and 
for  his  unjust  and  extreme  opinions  of  the  min- 
isters of  the  city,  to  which  he  had  given  free 
expression. 

Although  he  was  despised  by  the  better  class  of 
citizens,  he  succeeded,  through  dishonest  man- 
agement, in  -obtaining  from  the  city  Council  the 
reversion  of  the  next  vacancy  in  the  ministry  of 
the  city.  This  vacancy  occurred  soon  thereafter. 
But  Spener  and  his  colleagues  protested  so  earn- 
estly against  his  appointment  that  it  was  finally 
prevented.  Thus  a  danger  for  Spener  was  turned 
aside,  and  when  Menzer,  who  had  never  ceased 
to  persecute  Spener,  died  in  1679,  the  calumnies 
and  slanders  with  which  Spener  had  been  bur- 
dened, gradually  died  away,  and  during  the 
remainder  of  his  stay  in  Frankfort  he  had  peace 
and  quiet,  at  least  in  his  immediate  surroundings 
and  concerning  his  own  work. 

But  to  what  extent  Spener  suffered  under  the 
difficulties  attending  his  work,  is  shown  in  the 
letters  written  by  him  at  this  time,  in  which  he 
frequently  expressed  himself  concerning  them. 
In  a  letter  addressed  to  a  celebrated  theologian, 
with  whom  he  held  correspondence,  he  says,  that 
during  the  twenty-seven  years  in  which  he  had 
exercised  his  calling,  he  had  found  no  more 
poisonous  peojDle  and  none  who  opposed  more 
strenuously  true  and  active  Christianity  than  those 
of  his  own  order  and  calling.  Yet  lie  was  able  to 
conduct  himself  througliout  with  Christian  wis- 
dom and  to  look  upon  it  as  a  salutary  ex])erience 
permitted  by  God  for  his  own  testing.     In  rela- 


46  SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

tion  to  it  he  says  in  one  of  his  German  treatises: 
"  I  need  not  say  that  it  is  a  joy  and  honor  before 
the  Lord  to  suffer  something  for  the  sake  of  the 
truth,  for  which  I  feel  myself  unworth3\  And  I 
must  say  that  I  have  found  in  it  this  use:  that 
the  Lord  is  able  thereby  to  hold  me,  and  also 
others,  in  deej^er  humility  and  in  many  respects 
to  bring  us  to  greater  prudence. 

''We  know  that  with  us  men,  when  we  have 
decided  to  do  a  good  thing  and  see  the  oppor- 
tunity before  us,  we  sometimes,  with  the  best  in- 
tention, act  with  imprudence  or  venture  less  care- 
fully than  the  situation  demands.  We  think 
that  since  the  cause  is  good,  no  evil  can  come  of 
it;  but  this  often  happens,  and  the  good  cause  is 
injured.  So  the  Lord  teaches  us  through  diffi- 
culties to  act  with  great  certainty  and  observation, 
and  to  fear  for  a  good  cause.  The  bad  will  not 
trouble  themselves  to  molest  the  bad,  but  rather 
the  true  and  honest. 

"Then  we  also  know  that  an  unhindered  suc- 
cess pleases  the  old  Adam  in  us  and  very  readily 
and  involuntarily  awakes  in  us  a  dangerous 
pride. ' ' 

Spener  says  much  more  in  the  same  spirit,  al- 
ways waiting  with  patience  and  prayer  the  time 
when  the  Lord  shall  again  bring  his  righteous 
cause  to  the  light.  In  another  place  he  says: 
"Next  to  God's  glory  my  great  object  is  that 
God  shall  save  my  soul  and  those  whom  he  has 
entrusted  to  me.  I  exercise  my  office  with  fear 
and  trembling,  and  startle  before  the  judgment, 
which  apj)ears  more  and  more  dreadful  as  the 
more  is  entrusted  to  us.  As  I  now  think  how 
near  I  may  be  to  such  judgment,  nearer  than  I  or 
any  other  may  think,  I  see  that  I  have  no  reason 
to  feel  certain :  but  on  all  sides  to  watch  if  I  have 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK.  47 

not  neglected  something  wliich  I  may  hereafter 
liave  no  opportunity  to  do.  I  do  not  deny  that 
often  I  know  not  how  to  quiet  my  conscience,  and 
cannot  seek  counsel  enough,  since  there  seems 
danger  to  my  soul  on  every  side.  I  consider 
happy  and  blessed,  those  who  in  other  positions 
find  salvation  easier  and  attended  with  less  danger 
and  anxiety.  If  it  were  a  matter  of  free  will  to 
live  in  some  other  office,  such  cares  would  have 
moved  me  to  flee  with  Jonah  to  the  sea  rather 
than  to  attempt  to  fill  this  dangerous  position.  It 
is  alone  God's  call,  and  my  obedience  to  God's 
will,  which  binds  me  to  my  duty  and  consoles  me 
in  its  exercise." 

Spener  needed  such  consolation,  not  onl}^  be- 
cause of  his  own  affairs,  but  also  because  of  the 
circumstances  of  one  of  his  near  and  dear  rela- 
tives. His  brother-in-law,  Horbius,  Ministerial 
Inspector  of  the  shire  of  Spanheim,  Trarbach, 
had  in  the  first  years  of  his  office  been  active 
against  the  Romanists  and  Reformed,  and  also 
against  many  of  the  abuses  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  Because  of  this  he  had  incurred  the 
displeasure  of  some  of  his  hearers,  and  especiall}^ 
of  the  princely  councils.  He  was  greatly  im- 
pressed by  Spener' s  "Pious  Desires,"  and  not 
only  wrote  the  Supplement  to  it,  but  sought  to 
carr}^  out  its  propositions.  It  came  about  that 
while  on  a  visit  to  the  Schawlbach  Baths,  he  met 
with  a  company  of  pious  persons  who  were  prob- 
ably from  Frankfort.  These  people  held  a  meet- 
ing of  the  character  of  those  instituted  by  Spener, 
for  Bible  study  and  prayer.  Among  these  godly 
persons  he  experienced  an  entire  change  of  mind. 
He  felt  the  impotence  of  his  former  efforts,  and 
how  he,  like  many  other  pastors,  was  in  fault  that 
his  hearers  were  so  little  affected  by  his  work. 


48  SPEXER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

He  realized  that  the  implanting  of  a  living  Chris- 
tianity must  be  begun  in  quite  another  manner. 

On  his  return  home,  he  came  among  his  people 
in  a  changed  frame  of  mind.  He  was  full  of 
anxiety  for  a  more  rapid  advancement  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ.  He,  therefore,  seized  an 
early  opportunity  to  talk  of  the  nature  of  true 
Christian  belief  and  obedience,  striving  against 
the  prevailing  feeling  of  carnal  security  among 
his  hearers.  He  showed  them  that  all  trust  in 
God's  grace,  in  Christ's  merits,  and  the  sacra- 
ments, were  useless,  when  the  living  faith  was 
lacking.  In  this  manner  he  stung  the  souls  of 
his  hearers  until  many  became  embittered.  But 
others  aroused  from  their  worldliness  came  to  him 
of  their  own  will,  asking  to  be  taught  further  in 
the  true  way  of  safety  and  salvation.  Many  sent 
their  children  to  him,  and  he  held  evening  Bible 
classes  with  them,  and  was  thus  able  to  shape 
their  young  minds. 

But  this  good  work  was  very  soon  disturbed  by 
the  influence  of  one  of  the  deacons,  Arnold  by 
name.  This  man  had  already  had  difficulty  with 
his  earlier  Inspectors,  and  was  now  greatly  offended 
that  Horbius  was  in  possession  of  an  office  which 
he,  himself,  had  hoped  to  fill.  He  did  not  cease 
in  his  efforts  to  excite  the  disaffected  portion  of 
Horbius'  congregation  against  him,  and  finally 
complained  of  him  before  the  Consistorium.  He 
charged  him  with  dangerous  novelties  and  false 
teaching.  Under  the  last  head,  he  reckoned  the 
use  of  such  words  as  "Tranquillity,"  "Deaden- 
ing," and  "Abnegation,"  which  Horbius  used  in 
his  preaching.  The  Consistorium  dismissed  the 
complaint  as  groundless;  but  the  deacon  turned 
to  the  princely  government.  This  Council,  which 
was   already    unfavorable    to    Horbius,    without 


spj:xer  and  his  work.  49 

fault  of  his  own,  cited  him  to  appear  and  answer 
these  charges.     Although  they  could  not  find  him 
guilty  of  any  departure  froni  the  pure  doctrine, 
and  only  found  at  the  most,  that  he  had  been  too 
impetuous  and  not  altogether  prudent,    he  was 
given  the  choice  of  being  deposed  or  of  resigning 
from  his  office.     As  he  hesitated  about  his  resig- 
nation, his  dismissal  was  effected.     For  a  time  he 
went  to  Frankfort  and  remained  with  Spener,  who 
w^as  again  brought  into  suspicion  for  this  cause. 
But  later,  Horbius  was  called  as  superintendent 
of  the  Frankish  capital  of  Windesheim,  and  here 
he  became  a  most  impressive  preacher.  '   Through 
catechisation,    Bible-teaching   and    his   excellent 
pastoral  work,  as  well  as  his  earnest  preaching, 
he  so  won  the  love  of  the  City  Council  and  the 
citizens,    that  new  complaints  instigated  by  his 
old  enemy,    Arnold,    and  joined  in  by  his  col- 
leagues, were  of  no  avail  against  him. 
^  This  affan-  of  his  brother-in-law  was  an  intima- 
tion to  Spener  of  the  difficulties  which  awaited 
him.     He  possessed  a  mind  of  excellent  balance, 
moderation    and   justice,    and    readily  gave   due 
credit  to  pure  doctrine,  even  when  mixed  with 
error  in  the  works  of  others.     He  did  not  con- 
demn   a   man   in  all   things   w^hen  he  was  only 
mistaken  in  a  few^  things.     He  exercised  this  dis- 
crimination toward  various  men  with  whom  he 
widely  disagreed  and  condemned  in  many  points, 
but  whom   he  found    helpful   and    profi'table   in 
others.     He  also  recommended  the  use  of  such 
books  as  The   Imitation    of  Chiist  and   Arndt's 
True   Christianity.      These   things    brought   him 
anew^  into  reproach  among  his  people.     He  was 
called   Mystic,   Quaker   and    Labadist,    and   tor- 
mented  again    and    again    with    complamts   and 
suspicions.      "Thanks   be   to  God,"   he  says  at 


50  SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK. 

this  time,  "who  has  permitted  us  to  know  the 
truth,  that  we  dare  not  rest  on  the  authority  of 
one,  nor  of  many  men;  but  only  on  our  Saviour, 
Jesus  Clirist,  who  is  the  truth  itself,  and  who 
through  his  word  reveals  himself,  in  the  hearts  of 
his  own,  that  they  may  not  make  the  conscience 
subject  to  other  men;  but  rest  upon  a  sure  founda- 
tion, in  that  freedom  wherewith  the  Son  makes 
free. ' ' 

Spener  and  Horbius  were  drawn  into  public 
controversy  in  the  year  1679,  which  continued 
until  the  death  of  two  of  their  antagonists,  some 
five  years  after  its  beginning.  Dilfeld,  one  of 
the  chief  of  these,  acknowledged  that  he  had, 
during  this  controversy,  learned  more  practical 
theology  than  all  the  schools  had  been  able  to 
teach  him.  He  thanked  God  for  it;  but  he  was 
never  willing  to  acknowledge  his  error  against 
Spener.  This  controversy  was  concerning  the 
new  birth  or  the  new  creature  in  Christ,  which 
Spener  claimed  was  one  of  the  scriptural  doctrines 
of  Luther.  It  was  the  subject  of  several  books 
which  appeared  from  the  hands  of  Spener  and 
Dilfeld  during  the  continuance  of  this  controversy. 

The  difhculties  growing  out  of  Spener' s  efforts 
for  the  reform  of  church  life,  called  his  attention 
to  the  defects  in  the  constitution  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  Lie  was  now  satisfied  that  if  the  Evan- 
gelical Church  had  its  organization  more  strongly 
grounded  on  God's  word,  it  would  not  be  sub- 
jected to  so  much  controversy,  so  many  divisions 
and  schisms,  and  that  the  healing  of  her  wounds 
would  be  an  easier  task,  since  her  inner  life  would 
be  much  stronger.  He  had  found  the  church 
government  in  Strasburg  much  better  than  in 
Frankfort,  especially  in  the  matter  of  choosing 
pastors,  and  knew  well  the  advantage  of  it.     The 


SPEXER    AND    HIS    WORK.  51 

Frankfort  Ministerium  finally  authorized  a  treatise 
U)  be  pul)lished  on  this  subject,  aud  it  was  accord- 
ingly prepared  by  Spener.  Tins  treatise  was 
based  upon  the  idea  that  the  entire  Christian 
Church  and  each  congregation  was  the  household 
of  Christ.  To  these  he  had  entrusted  his  treasures : 
Word,  Sacrament  and  the  Ke^^s.  But,  in  order 
that  no  confusion  might  result,  these  were  to  be 
given  over  by  the  congregation  to  the  pastoral 
office  for  administration. 

To  this  office  the  congregation  should  render 
obedience,  providing  the  minister  respected  their 
rights,  and  should  administer  his  office,  especially 
the  power  of  the  Keys,  after  the  Scriptural  man- 
ner, and  remain  subordinate  to  the  judgment  of 
the  entire  Church.  If  there  should  be  cliflferences 
over  the  administration  of  this  office,  he  mentions 
two  methods  of  settlement;  either  by  a  vote  of 
a  majority  of  the  congregation,  or  by  the  action 
of  a  Council  or  Consistorium  elected  by  the  con- 
gregation. He  then  goes  on  in  part  to  recom- 
mend the  establishment  of  the  Episcopate,  as  a 
method  of  government;  but  finds  in  it  a  serious 
difficulty.  The  Episcopal  office  is  filled  by  ap- 
pointment; the  appointment  is  made  by  minis- 
ters, theologians  and  governors.  Thus  the  voice 
of  the  congregation  is  lost;  the  common  people 
are  shorn  of  responsibility,  and  hence,  finally,  of 
interest.  These  people,  he  says,  while  not  so 
learned,  have  often  a  good  Christian  confession 
and  a  godly  mind,  which,  in  the  things  to  be  de- 
cided, are  often  more  to  be  valued  than  great 
learning.  Spener  above  all  things  maintained 
that  the  common  people  should  have  part  in  the 
decisions  of  the  Church  and  the  preservation  of 
it^  order. 

Spener  saw  with  great  sorrow  the  Church  torn 


52  SPENER    AND    IITS    WOKK. 

by  that  passionate  syncretistic  controversy  which 
had  its  stronghold  at  Konigsberg,  and  raged  long 
and  bitterly  among  the  chief  universities.  Then, 
again,  a  polemical  war  arose  between  Wittenberg 
and  Jena. 

Spener  had  taken  great  care  not  to  be  drawn 
into  recent  controversies;  but  in  this  latter,  he  was 
not  permitted  to  keep  silent,  but  was  required  to 
present  various  treatises  on  the  church  doctrines 
in  behalf  of  the  Ministerium. 

In  these  required  treatises  we  find  many  inter- 
esting expressions  of  his  doctrine.  Indeed  much 
of  the  responsibility  of  maintaining  pure  doctrine 
in  the  Church  rested  upon  Spener  in  these  troubled 
times. 

He  expresses  himself  as  entirely  convinced  of 
the  purity  and  truth  of  the  doctrine  exhibited  in 
the  symbols  of  the  Lutlieran  church,  which  in  all 
disputed  points  he  unconditionally  preferred  to 
the  doctrinal  confession  of  any  other  Christian 
party.  He,  however,  reserved  to  himself  a  free- 
dom of  judgment  quite  unusual  for  the  time.  He 
looked  upon  the  symbolical  books  as  the  writings 
of  men,  which  must  be  subordinated  to  the  Holy 
Scripture,  and  never  looked  upon  as  the  founda- 
tion and  rule  of  faith.  He  attributed  no  infalli- 
bihty  to  them,  and  did  not  look  upon  them  as  a 
perfect  system  of  Theology,  which  cut  off  all 
further  scientific  development  of  doctrine. 

Although  he  was  convinced  of  the  general  truth 
of  their  contents,  he  wished  that  the  freedom 
might  always  be  maintained  to  test  them  by  the 
Word  of  God.  He  laid  upon  them  no  absolute 
value  for  the  Church,  but  a  relative  and  historical 
one,  and  declared  that  one  might  discard  them 
without  heresy,  excepting  as  to  those  points  im- 
mediately sustained  by  Holy  Scripture. 


SPEXER    AND    HIS    WORK.  63 

He  considered  them  especially  useful  as  a  pub- 
lic witness  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  before 
friend  and  foe,  as  the  norm  of  decision  in  internal 
theological  controversy,  and  as  a  basis  of  doctrine 
for  those  who  received  them  because  of  their 
agreement  with  the  AVord  of  God. 

Spener  exhil)ited  a  like  freedom  in  his  judg- 
ment of  Luther,  whose  greatness  in  the  Evan- 
gelical Churoh  liad  always  been  like  a  fetter  on 
the  minds  of  men. 

The  deep  honor  which  he  felt  for  this  chosen 
instrument  of  God,  did  not  prevent  him  from 
remembering  that  Luther,  also,  was  a  man,  and 
had  sometimes  erred,  although  he  valued  Luther's 
writings  next  to  the  Bible. 

He  says  that  during  his  studies  under  Dann- 
hauer  he  was  urged  b}"  him  to  the  study  of 
Luther's  writings,  and  in  company"  with  others 
prepared  from  them  a  commentary  on  the  entire 
Biljle.  This  gave  him  a  very  exact  knowledge  of 
all  the  works  of  the  great  reformer.  Said  he: 
"  It  is  true  that  Christ  and  Paul  lighted  Luther 
through  all  places,  and  the  articles  of  belief  and 
their  fruits  have  hardly  been  so  impressively 
treated  since  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  as  they 
were  by  him.  And  were  such  Avritings  more  in- 
dustriously read,  there  would  be  a  better  founda- 
tion laid  in  many  of  our  universities  than  is  now 
made  to  serve  the  purpose.  Yet  I  require  as 
little  as  Luther  himself  would  have  done  that  his 
writings  be  apotheosized;  for  while  I  find  in  them 
a  glorious  spiritual  power,  I  find  in  them  also  the 
man,  especially  where  he  writes  of  the  prophets." 
In  another  place  he  speaks  of  Luther's  translation 
of  the  Bible  as  an  inimitable  work  in  which, 
however,  he  (Luther)  has  not  always  found  the 
exact  sense,  and.  adds:   "A  giant  remains  great 


54  SPEXER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

and  a  dwarf  small,  and  there  is  no  comparison  to 
be  made  between  them;  but  if  the  dwarf  stands 
upon  the  shoulders  of  the  giant,  he  sees  yet 
further  than  the  giant,  since  this  great  stature 
•lifts  him  above  himself. 

"  Therefore,  it  is  no  wonder  that,  often,  a  dwarf, 
who  is  far  enough  from  being  a  great  teacher  like 
Luther,  finds  something  in  the  Scripture  which 
Luther  had  not  found,  after  having  the  advantage 
of  all  of  Luther's  learning,  without  which  he 
could  not  have  found  it.  Luther  remains  the 
general  teaclier,  but  occasionally  the  scholar  dis- 
covers something  here  and  there  which  the  pre- 
ceptor did  not.  It  is  not,  then,  pure  temerity 
when  one  dissents  from  Luther's  translations,  or 
other  writings,  and  shows  where  they  can  be 
bettered;  neither  is  it  to  his  reproach,  that  accord- 
ing to  God's  ordering,  the  Spirit  of  the  prophets 
should  have  other  subjects." 

Spener  did  not  hesitate  to  show  occasionally  in 
his  preaching,  where  the  original  Scripture  gave 
the  text  a  more  exact  meaning,  and  above  all  to 
denounce  the  delusion  that  one  already  had  salva- 
tion, when  he  only  possessed  the  true,  pure  doc- 
trine of  Luther.  He  also  deplored  the  violence 
of  some  of  Luther's  polemical  writings,  believing 
them  to  be  moved  by  the  carnal  mind,  which 
sometimes  hindered  tlie  course  of  the  Church. 
But  all  this  he  excused,  because  of  the  dangers 
and  hardships  of  the  time,  and  found  a  special, 
providential  wisdom,  in  the  association  of  the 
powerful  reformer  with  the  learned  and  more 
moderate  Melanchthon.  ' '  True, ' '  he  says,  ' '  one 
cannot  be  satisfied  with  Melanchthon' s  later  theo- 
logical tendency;  but  his  distinguished  services  in 
behalf  of  the  Lutheran  Church  and  her  theology 
must  ever  be  held  in  thankful  remembrance." 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK.  55 

Declaring  at  all  times  the  freedom  of  judgment 
and  of  love  as  against  the  prejudices  of  the  time, 
Spener  treated  the  followers  of  other  confessions 
with  a  gentleness  unusual  for  the  period.  He 
held  with  unshaken  confidence  to  the  declaration 
that  the  Lutheran  Church  was  unequaled  by  any 
other  in  purity  of  doctrine  and  fidelity  to  the 
faith.  Yet  he  was  far  from  believing,  with  the 
narrowness  of  the  time,  that  outside  of  the  Luth- 
eran Church  no  one  could  be  saved.  "Jesus 
Christ,"  said  he,  "must  be  a  poor  King,  when 
the  only  subjects  of  his  kingdom  of  grace  are 
those  within  the  narrow  limits  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  His  government  is  over  all  the  world 
and  among  many  dispersions,  wherever  he  is 
able  to  discover  his  own.  He  has  surely  among 
other  denominations  sown  the  good  seed;  and 
even  though  they  should  fail  in  the  letter  of  the 
Confession,  yet  by  divine  light  they  are  able  to 
conceive  the  divine  essentials  upon  which  salva- 
tion rests." 

It  deserves  to  be  remarked  that  the  great  mild- 
ness which  Spener  observ^ed  toward  other  denom- 
inations was  the  result  of  many  experiences  after 
the  course  of  years. 

In  the  first  years  of  his  experience  in  Frankfort 
he  had  viol  en  th^  opposed  the  Reformed  Church, 
had  preached  against  their  proselyting  and  warned 
against  their  doctrines.  His  assistance  had  al- 
ready been  sought  in  an  effort  to  unite  these  two 
great  divisions  of  the  Church  in  Germany^  the 
Lutheran  and  Reformed;  but  Spener  refused  to 
join  in  any  consideration  of  the  matter.  How 
greatly  his  feelings  changed  toward  the  Reformed 
branch  of  the  Protestant  Church,  was  shown 
when,  in  1685,  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of 
Nantes  concerning  the  Huguenots  in  France  was 


56  SPENER   AND   HIS   WORK. 

followed  by  its  awful  results.  No  day  passed 
that  he  did  not  think  of  them  with  earnest  sym- 
pathy and  prayer.  He  looked  upon  them  as 
martyrs  to  the  general  cause  of  Protestantism, 
and  admonished  the  people  to  observe  public 
prayers  in  their  behalf  in  the  Lutheran  churches. 
He  advised  that  influence  be  used  for  them  with 
the  government,  and  that  fugitives  be  kindly  re- 
ceived. In  these  circumstances  he  realized  the 
danger  awaiting  all  Protestants  at  the  hands  of 
Rome,  and  felt  that  a  union  of  the  Protestant 
divisions  might  be  beneficial.  This  appeared  to 
him  difficult;  the  more  so  as  the  disposition  of 
the  churches  had  been  embittered  toward  one 
another  by  controversy.  He  believed  that  the 
first  step  must  be  to  distinguish  betAveen  the 
essential  and  unessential  in  doctrine,  in  order  to 
quiet  controversy,  and  that  in  unimportant  mat- 
ters an  entire  amnesty  must  prevail.  He  be- 
lieved, however,  that  this  union  could  not  take 
place  in  Germany,  but  thought  that  it  must  begin 
with  Sweden,  Denmark  and  England.  Contrary 
to  his  expectations,  however,  this  union  was 
effected  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century, 
in  Prussia,  where  Spener  spent  his  last  days. 

Toward  the  close  of  his  work  in  Frankfort, 
Spener' s  pen  was  again  engaged  in  a  defense  of 
Lutheran  doctrine,  against  the  encroachments  of 
Rome  and  the  ever- threatening  possibility  of 
Protestant  and  Catholic  union.  To  this  end  he 
brought  out  two  more  books,  which  were  written 
under  pressure  of  hard  Avork  and  illness.  But 
with  all,  he  was  able  so  profitably  to  employ 
every  minute  that  he  still  had  some  time  to  de- 
vote to  his  favorite  study,  history.  Through  his 
wide  historical  knowledge  he  was  interested  in 
heraldry  and  was  the  founder  of  the  heraldry  of 


SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK.  57 

Germany.  He  published  two  very  valuable  works 
on  this  su])ject,  which  were  noted  as  exhibiting 
unusual  industry,  broad  reading  and  diverse  his- 
torical knowledge. 

Spener  had  spent  twenty  years  in  Frankfort. 
They  had  been  years  of  hard  and  difficult  work; 
but  they  had  been  richly  blessed  with  good  re- 
sults; for  he  was  now  looked  upon  as  a  bright 
light  in  the  Evangelical  Church. 

The  Elector  of  Saxony,  John  George,  the  Third, 
on  a  journey  to  his  army  on  the  Rhine,  made  a 
short  stay  in  Frankfort.  While  there,  he  heard 
Spener  preach,  and  was  pleased  with  him  per- 
sonally and  as  a  preacher. 

The  Saxon  Court  preacher,  Dr.  Lucius,  was 
old  and  feeble,  and  in  May,  1684,  the  Elector, 
througli  Baron  Seckendorf,  who  was  Spener' s 
friend,  caused  the  latter  to  be  called  to  Dresden  as 
court  preacher,  confessor,  Church  Councilor  and 
member  of  the  Chief  Consistorial  Council. 

This  position  was  at  that  time  the  first  in  the 
entire  Evangelical  Church.  Saxony  had  been  the 
cradle  of  the  Reformation,  and  the  Elector  was 
looked  upon  as  the  most  distinguished  and  power- 
ful of  all  the  Protestant  princes.  The  office  was 
one  which  exerted  the  most  important  influence 
on  the  religious  condition  of  the  greatest  of  the 
German  provinces,  and  brought  its  occuj^ant  in 
touch  with  the  most  celel)rated  and  learned  theo- 
logians of  the  chief  universities. 

These  facts  caused  Spener  to  hesitate  about  his 
acceptance.  He  did  not  believe  that  he  possessed 
the  gifts  necessary  for  such  a  position.  He  also 
felt  that  the  methods  which  he  had  heretofore 
successfully  used  and  which  he  felt  called  upon 
to  continue,  would  not  be  of  value  there.  He 
felt,   further,   that  his   popular   sermonizing,    so 


58  SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK. 

lielpful  to  the  masses,  would  not  be  suited  to  a 
Court  congregation.  He  was,  moreover,  deeply 
attached  to  his  Frankfort  congregation  and  the 
people  of  the  city,  and  every  effort  was  used  by 
his  friends  here  for  his  detention.  While  he 
hesitated,  he  was  seized  with  a  dangerous  illness, 
which  continued  for  seven  months.  When  finally 
he  recovered.  Dr.  Lucius  died,  and  again  Spener 
was  called  to  the  Dresden  office. 

Still  he  did  not  trust  himself  to  accept  the  call; 
but  placed  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  the  magis- 
trates at  Frankfort,  with  elaborate  arguments  for 
and  against  his  acceptance.  But  the  magistrates 
refused  to  decide,  and  again  Spener  sought  as- 
sistance by  seeking  counsel  of  five  theologians, 
unknown  to  each  other.  These  decided  unani- 
mously that  the  call  was  divine,  and  Spener 
communicated  his  acceptance  to  the  Elector  in  a 
letter  which  touchingly  expresses  his  anxious 
and  prayerful  obedience  to  the  divine  call. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SPEXER    AS    COURT-PREACHER    AT     DRESDEN CONDI- 
TION    OF    THE     SAXON     CHURCH HIS     PRACTICAL 

ACTIVITY. 

On  the  eleventh  of  July,  1686,  Spener  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  his  new  position  with  courage 
and  cheerfulness.  His  first  sermon  was  preached 
in  the  court  chapel,  from  Matthew  v.  20-26,  in 
which,  after  greeting  all  those  present,  the  Elec- 
toral family,  the  assembled  statesmen,  his  new 
colleagues,  the  city  of  Dresden,  and  the  entire 
land,  he  treated  of  the  false  pharisaical  and  the 
true  Christian  righteousness  with  relation  to  the 
pastoral  office.  In  closing  he  reminded  his 
hearers  w^ith  noble  frankness  what  his  duties 
would  be  as  a  servant  of  Christ  and  a  keeper  of 
God's  mysteries.  This  and  the  next  sermon  fol- 
lowing, from  the  novelty  of  tlieir  treatment,  their 
earnestness  and  practical  tendency,  produced 
considerable  excitement. 

Many  felt  themselves  injured  by  the  truth 
without  being  able  to  reply.  Even  the  Elector 
confessed  that  he  had  not  desired  his  heart  to  be 
so  moved. 

Spener  realized  with  thanksgiving  that  a  divine 
blessing  rested  upon  his  work.  But  he  soon  had 
occasion  to  feel  some  of  the  difficulties  of  his  new 
position.  The  uncertain  ground  of  a  court  was 
not  the  place  where  a  man  of  such  earnestness, 
candor  and  Christian  zeal  would  find  himself 
(59) 


60  SPENER   AND   HIS   WORK. 

most  comfortable.  He  entered  upon  his  work 
with  great  prudence,  seeking  the  assistance  and 
approval  of  his  colleagues  in  ever}^  good  work 
that  he  projected.  But  from  the  beginning  he 
was  received  with  jealousy  by  the  other  ministers 
of  Dresden,  who  had  in  preparation  for  him  many 
a  bitter  hour. 

Despite  his  kindly  attitude  toward  his  col- 
leagues, he  could  not  win  their  good  will  or  as- 
sistance. It  was  not  long  until  they  complained 
of  him  before  the  Consistorium,  and  charged  him 
with  saying  in  a  sermon  that  heretofore  the  doc- 
trine of  justification  had  not  been  correctly 
preached  in  Dresden. 

In  regard  to  this  Spener  says:  "I  have  not 
found  the  world  here  different  from  elsewhere, 
only  that  the  wickedness  differs  in  some  respects, 
and  I  can  hardly  say  whether  it  is  bolder  or  more 
subtle.  But  the  Court-devil  here  is  like  that  of 
other  courts,  with  the  claws  perhaps  a  little  more 
concealed.  The  same  spirit  rules  the  children  of 
unbelief  in  Dresden  that  ruled  them  in  Frank- 
fort.    The  same  spirit  under  another  form.'' 

Because  of  these  difficulties,  Spener  took  occa- 
sion to  treat  in  his  sermons  many  of  the  more 
important  Christian  doctrines,  Avith  strenuous 
earnestness,  from  the  standpoint  of  orthodox 
Lutheranism,  and  to  present  these  as  the  basis  of 
his  future  work.  This  he  did  to  fortify  himself 
against  any  suspicion  of  heterodoxy,  and  because, 
as  he  expressed  it:  "  The  prospect  of  Christianity 
in  Saxony  was  a  gloomy  one."  "No  where," 
says  he,  "has  the  stiff  orthodoxy,  the  scholastic 
treatment  of  dogmatics,  the  passionate  polemics, 
the  unfruitful  method  of  preaching,  struck  such 
deep  roots  as  here." 

This  condition  of   things  was   nourished   and 


SPEXER   AND    HIS    WORK.  61 

nursed  by  both  of  the  Saxon  Universities.  Wit- 
tenberg was  now  dechning,  but  Leipzig  was  rising 
in  importance.  In  both  universities,  dogmatics, 
polemics  and  philosoph}^,  were  the  chief  and  im- 
portant studies,  and  a  galaxy  of  notable  men 
gave  them  entire  attention;  but  the  teaching  of 
Biblical  exegesis  was  abandoned.  Man}"  of  the 
most  distinguished  of  the  professors  of  these  uni- 
versities had  openly  approved  and  praised 
Spener's  labors  in  the  Church  in  their  writings 
and  otherwise.  Among  these  were  Carpzov, 
Maj'er,  Peiffer,  Alberti  and  Olearius.  They  had 
gone  so  far  as  to  characterize  him  as  a  man  of 
highest  value  to  the  Church.  On  his  removal  to 
Dresden,  Wittenberg  had  sent  him  a  most  flatter- 
ing Latin  poem,  and  the  theological  faculty  of 
Leipzig  had  tendered  him  warm  congratulations. 
But  behind  these  expressions  was  hidden  secret 
ill-will.  While  yet  in  Frankfort,  Spener  had 
been  warned  against  Carpzov,  of  Leipzig,  and  his 
brother,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Consistory  in 
Dresden. 

Although  up  to  this  time  his  relations  with 
both  of  these  men  had  been  the  most  pleasant,  it 
became  evident  that  jealousy  of  Spener  s  position 
caused  great  disaffection  toward  him.  These  cir- 
cumstances were  all  the  more  trying  to  Spener, 
since  the  improvement  of  these  universities  was 
not  only  his  earnest  wish,  but  now  belonged  to 
the  duties  of  his  office. 

He  says  at  this  time:  "I  see  about  me  the 
great  power  of  Satan  and  his  established  king- 
dom, and  many  difficulties  which  are  beyond  the 
hope  and  heip  of  men  to  overcome.  But  against 
them  all  I  set  the  might  of  God,  which  nothing 
can  withstand,  and  at  whose  call  I  am  here,  the 
same  that  hath  sent  me.     He  is  faithful,  and  wil] 


62  SPENER   AND   HIS   WORK. 

not  leave  my  poor  but  obedient  efforts  without 
fruit  or  blessing.  I  rest  upon  this,  and  hope 
where  there  seems  nothing  to  hope  for,  waiting 
with  patience  for  such  blessing  as  God  gives." 
Time  and  place  and  measure  of  results  he  did  not 
question;  but  sought  only  the  will  of  God  with 
patient  service. 

His  chief  concern  was  to  bring  the  ministry  to 
greater  purity  and  spirituality,  and  the  schools  to 
the  study  of  the  Bible  and  the  exercise  of  piety 
in  the  place  of  scholastic  hair-splitting.  He  be- 
lieved that  God  would  reveal  widening  opportun- 
ities for  good  works  to  those  who  waited  upon 
His  will. 

In  this  Spener  was  not  disappointed.  The 
preaching  of  the  Word,  his  pastoral  activity,  the 
examination  of  candidates,  and  the  work  of  the 
Consistor}^,  were  not  without  fruits.  A  special 
blessing  seemed  to  rest  upon  that  work  which  had 
proved  of  such  value  in  his  pastoral  experience. 
This  was  the  teaching  of  the  Catechism.  In  his 
present  office  he  was  not  under  obligations  to  pur- 
sue this;  but  after  an  expression  of  his  willing- 
ness to  do  so,  the  children  of  the  Elector  and  a 
few  friends  were  sent  to  his  house  for  instruction. 
The  attendance  was  free  to  everybody,  and  soon 
became  so  great  that  the  class  was  removed  to  one 
of  the  chapels  of  the  palace.  This  large  attend- 
ance was  made  up  of  children  and  adults  of  both 
sexes,  and  was  a  rich  opportunity  for  the  exercise 
of  Spener' s  peculiar  teaching  gift,  and  was  the 
more  eagerly  improved  as  he  hoped  that  other 
pastors  throughout  the  land  would  follow  his  ex- 
ample. 

In  a .  sermon  preached  before  the  Saxon  Diet, 
he  referred,  among  other  things,  to  the  great 
value  of  catechetical  instruction,  and  many  of  the 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK.  63 

nobility  were  induced  by  this  reference  to  attend 
the  examination  of  his  class.  They  were  much 
pleased  Avith  the  manner  in  which  it  was  con- 
ducted, and  not  long  afterward,  a  law  was  passed 
requiring  catechisation  in  all  the  churches  in 
Saxony. 

Spener  regretted  that  a  law  to  this  effect  was 
necessary.  It  would  have  been  much  more  en- 
couraging had  such  instruction  been  entirely 
voluntary;  but  the  disposition  of  only  too  many 
of  the  pastors  was  such  that  they  felt  it  cjuite  be- 
neath them  to  concern  themselves  with  such 
"child's  play,"  as  they  expressed  it.  There 
were  even  those  among  the  clergy  Avho  com- 
plained that  instead  of  the  court  preacher  which 
he  sought,  the  Elector  had  got  a  school-master. 

But  Spener  despised  this  mocking,  and  in  the 
end,  saw  a  rich  harvest  from  his  persevering 
work,  and  the  whole  Evangelical  Church  has 
him  to  thank  for  the  now  general  custom  of 
teaching  candidates  for  confirmation  and  for  cate- 
chetical examinations. 

Spener  was  also  the  first  to  practically  divorce 
theology  from  the  Latin  language,  and  bring  into 
use  the  German.  In  the  exercise  of  his  office  he 
insisted  on  holding  the  examinations  of  all  candi- 
dates for  the  ministry  in  the  German  language. 
He  took  no  notice  of  the  abuse  which  was  heaped 
upon  him  for  this.  He  said  he  was  not  so  much 
concerned  as  to  how  well  a  candidate  expressed 
himself  in  the  Latin  language,  but  that  he  was 
seriously  concerned  as  to  how  deeply  he  was 
grounded  in  the  Christian  Confession,  and  how 
well  he  was  prepared  to  speak  of  spiritual  things. 
He  found  that  he  was  much  better  able  to  dis- 
cover these  essential  qualifications  when  a  man 
expressed  himself  in  his  mother  tongue,  and  did 


64  SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK. 

not  occupy  himself  with  the  use  of  a  strange 
language. 

But  the  most  important  part  of  Spener's  work 
in  Dresden,  as  in  Frankfort,  was  his  preachhig. 
It  was  intelligently  directed  toward  the  teaching 
of  essential  doctrines  and  the  spiritual  upbuilding 
of  his  people  through  the  unfolding  of  scriptural 
truth.  His  sermons  were  shorn  of  all  that  was 
merely  rhetorical  and  ethical  or  controversial. 
They  had,  also,  a  popular  character  and  a  practical 
tendency.  Such  preaching  soon  excited  attention, 
then  applause  and  admiration,  and  his  sermons 
were  solicited  for  printing.  From  the  year  1688 
he  published  three  annual  courses  of  sermons: 
' '  The  Evangelical  Doctrines, "  "  The  Evangelical 
Duties"  and  "The  Evangelical  Consolations." 
These  sermons  were  plain,  solid,  and  full  of 
Christian  warmth. 

In  his  private  lectures  Spener  nmde  use  of  the 
Bible  in  the  original  languages,  as  he  was  not  en- 
tirely satisfied  with  the  various  commentaries. 
In  his  exegesis  he  adopted  the  best  methods  of 
several  of  the  most  learned  commentators  of  the 
time,  and  strove  to  avoid  the  extremes  of  allegory 
on  the  one  hand,  and  scholastic  literalness  on  the 
other. 

While  yet  in  Frankfort,  at  one  of  the  house- 
meetings  held  there,  Spener  had  been  asked  how 
one  should  know  the  new  creature  in  Christ,  and 
how  discover  if  such  a  work  were  of  na'ture  or  of 
grace.  Some  were  anxious  to  know  how  they 
should  be  able  to  know  that  they  were  living  in  a 
condition  of  grace.  His  argument  of  this  ques- 
tion, in  its  essential  points,  with  its  scriptural 
j)roofs,  was  written  down  by  a  divinity  student 
who  was  present.  In  1687  this  argument  ap- 
l)eared  in   Saxony  in    print,    under  the   title   of 


SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK.  65 

"Nature  and  Grace."  With  this  he  had  hoped 
to  begin  that  awakening  of  the  Saxon  clergy  to 
better  things,  which  was  one  of  the  chief  objects 
always  in  view  in  his  present  office. 

He  had  already  discovered  that  the  corruption 
of  the  Saxon  Church  was  due  to  three  chief 
causes:  1st.  The  entire  exclusion  of  the  common 
people  from  any  part  in  the  church  government 
and  congregational  life.  2d.  The  small  number 
of  preachers,  nearly  all  of  whom  had  charge  of 
numerous  congregations;  and  3d.  The  negligence 
and  indifference  of  these  preachers. 

The  two  first  of  these  causes  could  only  be  re- 
moved by  the  government;  and  that  this  should 
occur  seemed  very  doubtful.  This  made  it  the 
more  necessary  to  work  through  the  servants  of 
the  Word,  to  fill  them  with  a  new  spirit,  and 
through  them  to  bring  a  new  stream  of  life  into 
the  distracted  Church. 

Especially  were  there  three  things  from  which 
he  expected  help:  the  edifying  proclamation  of 
God's  word;  the  judicious  teaching  of  the  Cate- 
chism, and  the  worthy  conduct  of  the  spiritual 
office  in  connection  with  earnest  pastoral  service. 

From  years  of  experience  he  had  learned  that 
the  first  essential  of  a  spiritual  sermon  was  the 
exposition  of  the  Scripture  text.  Ever}'  sermon, 
he  declared,  must  be  directed  toward  a  single 
ol^ject  of  edification;  that  it  must  appeal  in  part 
to  the  intellect,  and  partly  to  the  wills  of  the 
hearers.  He  believed  that  this  would  occur  when 
the  text  should  be  the  most  exactly  explained, 
and  the  truth  contained  in  it  applied  as  teaching, 
warning  and  consolation. 

He  presented  as  the  norm  of  the  spiritual  ser- 
mon, that  it  must  follow  the  text,  and  that  no 
new  matter  must  be  introduced,  the  more  es- 
5 


66  SPENER   A2iD    HIS    WORK. 

pecially  as  such  treasures  were  always  to  be  found 
in  it.  This  rule,  he  thought,  admitted  of  but 
one  exception:  When  a  preacher  was  limited  to  a 
fixed  text,  and  this  text  did  not  contain  the  mat- 
ter which  he  found  it  necessary  to  use,  he  believed 
that  love  should  prevail  over  all  art  and  every 
rule,  and  that  for  the  sake  of  edification  the  text 
and  the  sermon  might  be  forced  to  the  purpose. 
In  the  case  of  a  free  choice  of  texts,  he  believed 
that  the  natural  method  must  always  be  followed. 
He  expressed  a  preference  for  evangelical  teaching 
being  made  the  chief  thing;  that  of  redemption, 
justification  and  sanctification.  He  declared  him- 
self positively  against  the  continual  preaching  of 
the  law  which  was  then  practiced  because  of  the 
corrupt  times.  He  recognized  its  value  in  awak- 
ening sinners  to  repentance;  but  believed  that 
every  preacher  was  above  all  called  to  announce 
the  gospel  of  salvation,  which  brought  the  spirit 
of  faith,  through  which  was  wrouglit  the  sanctifi- 
cation of  life.  He  declared  that  he  who  preached 
the  Gospel  with  prudence  and  power,  would  see 
from  it  more  fruit  among  the  unrepentant  and 
godless  than  from  all  the  thunders  of  the  law. 
He  reproached  the  mere  preaching  of  morality  as 
useless,  since  it  w^as  separated  from  faith,  the  cen- 
tral principle  of  Christian  life.  He  finally  warned 
against  introducing  controversy  into  the  pulpit, 
and  strove  to  lead  the  preaching  back  to  apostolic 
simplicity.  He  carefully,  and  in  detail,  instructs 
the  preacher  in  the  preparation  of  sermons,  the 
proper  use  of  the  Catechism,  and  the  administra- 
tion of  the  sacraments,  that  they  might  all  be  the 
means  of  bringing  the  Church  to  a  better  condi- 
tion. 

Spener  sought  further  to  improve  the  condition 
of  the  Church  by  carrying  on  theological  corres- 


SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK.  67 

pondence  with  various  persons  in  Saxony,  and 
finally  included  in  it  the  whole  of  Germany. 

For  some  years  he  had  been  looked  upon  as  the 
chief  spiritual  and  theological  counselor  for  all 
Germany,  and  when  he  entered  upon  .the  duties 
of  his  office  in  Dresden,  it  became  necessary  for 
the  Elector  to  procure  frankage  for  letters  received 
and  sent  by  him.  At  one  time,  he  assured  a 
friend,  that  during  one  year  he  had  carefully  an- 
swered six  hundred  and  twenty-two  letters,  and 
that  thr^e  hundred  remained  unanswered. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PIETISTIC     CONTROVERSIES  —  SPENER's     DIFFICULTY 
WITH    THE    ELECTOR HIS   CALL   TO   BERLIN. 

During  Spener's  residence  in  Dresden,  the 
Pietistic  Movement  brought  on  that  controversy 
which  disturbed  all  his  after  life,  and  which  long 
after  his  death  distracted  the  Lutheran  Church. 
Influenced  by  the  general  inovement  which  was 
the  result  of  Spener's  work  in  Frankfort,  three 
young  men  of  Leipzig  founded  a  society  for  the 
closer  study  of  the  Bible  in  the  original. 

These  men  were  Augustus  Hermann  Francke, 
Paul  Anton,  and  John  Caspar  Schade. 

The  two  former  were  private  lecturers  on  theol- 
ogy in  the  Leipzig  University.  These  three  were 
joined  by  other  professors,  who  were  eminent  for 
their  piety  and  learning. 

Francke  made  a  visit  to  Spener  in  Dresden  and 
returned  filled  with  zeal  for  the  promotion  of  true 
religious  life  among  the  people.  But  soon  false 
reports  were  circulated  concerning  him,  charges 
against  him  were  sent  to  Dresden  and  every  effort 
was  made  to  suppress  the  pietistic  movement  in 
the  university.  For  the  time  being  these  efforts 
were  successful,  and  the  prime  movers  in  the 
direction  of  aggressive  Christianity  were  forced  to 
leave  the  city. 

The  downfall  of  this  movement  in  Leipzig,  in 

which  Spener  had  hoped  much  for  the  church, 

caused  him  no  little  disappointment;  but  he  was 

engaged  in  another  matter  which  in  part  with- 

(68) 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK.  69 

drew  his  attention  from  it.     This  was  a  contro- 
versy   over    an    extremely    strenuous    form     of 
confessional  subscription  adopted  by  the  Ham- 
burg Ministerium,  and  especially  directed  toward 
Spener  and  his  friends.     It  was  "^calculated  to  cast 
reproach   upon    them   and  debar  them  from   all 
fellowship  with  others  in  the  Lutheran  Church. 
In    many   places   this    form    was    severely   con- 
demned; but  the  theologians  of  Kiel,  Wittenberg, 
Liibeck  and  Greifswald,  treated  it  with  favor  when 
their  opinions  Avere  required.     Spener  was  then 
appealed  to,  and  also  the  three  General  Superin- 
tendents: Fischer  of  Riga,   Alard   of  Oldenberg, 
and   Meyer   of   Wolfenbuttel.       These   men   also 
pubHshed  treatises  upon  it,    and  this  created  a 
most   unhappy   division    in    the   entire  Church. 
Spener  was  accused  in  public  tracts  of  being  the 
patron  of  all  errors,  as  the  founder  of  the  hated 
house-gatherings   (for  prayer  and    Bible   study) 
and  the  proper  cause  of  the  Hamburg  disturb- 
ance.    As  a  defence  against  these  reproaches  he 
prepared  an  excellent  little  work  entitled:   "The 
Freedom  of  Believers  from  the  views  of  men  in 
matters  of  Faith."     In  this  he  nobly  defended 
the  freedom  of  the  Church,  and  made 'it  the  occa- 
sion of  a  free  expression  of  his  theological  opin- 
ions.    He  condemned  the  attempt  made  bv  the 
Hamburg  Ministerium  to  bind  the  entire  Church 
by  this  strenuous  form  of  subscription,  and  thus 
cause  the  division  of  congregations.      He  again 
more  decidedly  set  forth  the  doctrine  of  the  sjjir- 
itual  priesthood,  the  pastoral  office,  the  supremacy 
of  God's  Word,  and  the  right  of  its  interpretation. 
He  denied  the  right  of  the  universities  to  bind 
men's   consciences    by  their   opinions;  but   held 
them  valuable  in  matters  of  counsel,  in  so  far  as 
their  faculties  were  learned   sincere  and  spiritual. 


70  SPEXER   AND    HIS    WORK. 

He  claimed  the  right  of  freedom  and  adaptation 
in  the  use  of  orders  of  worship,  and  praised  the 
Augsburg  Confession  and  the  authors  of  the  Form 
of  Concord  for  their  wisdom  in  leaving  these  un- 
essential matters  free;  especially  as  it  had  jDroved 
so  salutary,  in  the  course  of  the  Church's  history, 
that  in  almost  all  of  the  larger  cities  the  various 
churches  differed  from  each  other  in  the  use  of 
these  things. 

Much  was  written  on  both  sides  of  the  question; 
Spener's  decided  inclination  to  Chiliasm  was 
discussed,  being  incidentally  related  to  the  atti- 
tude of  the  Hamburg  Ministerium  toward  the 
Chiliastic  writings  of  Jacob  Bohme.  But  finally 
a  short-lived  amnesty  was  obtained  through  a 
compromise,  and  controversy  was  for  the  time 
suppressed. 

In  the  meantime,  Spener  was  laboring  under 
another  difficulty  that  caused  him  yet  more 
anxiety  and  embarrassment.  Following  the  ex- 
ample of  his  predecessors  in  office,  Spener  took 
occasion,  on  a  fast  day  in  February,  1689,  to  ad- 
monish the  Elector  concerning  his  disposition 
and  life.  He  did  this,  urged  to  action  by  his 
conscience,  in  the  character  of  confessor  to  the 
prince,  by  letter,  and  in  a  modest  but  earnest 
manner.  At  first  the  Elector  was  shocked  and 
touched  by  this  appeal;  but  later,  excited  by  his 
courtiers  against  Spener,  he  felt  himself  offended, 
and  was  seized  with  a  violent  dislike  for  the  man 
who  had  presumed  to  censure  and  correct  him. 
He  sent  the  letter  back  to  Spener  with  a  long  and 
rambling  answer  which,  though  not  severe  toward 
Spener,  accused  other  persons  of  instigating  the 
action.  These  innocent  persons  he  threatened 
with  serious  punishment  for  the  supposed  injury. 

Spener  hastened,  in  a  second  letter,  to  assure 


SPEXER    AXD    HIS    WORK.  71 

the  Elector  tliat  the  step  was  taken  without  the 
knowledge  or  co-operation  of  any  other  person, 
that  it  was  done  by  him  alone,  in  the  discharge 
of  his  official  duty.  But  this  letter  was  returned 
to  him  by  the  privy  Councilor  unojDened.  After 
this  the  Elector  never  again  attended  Sj^ener's 
preaching;  and  at  communion  was  served  by 
another  preacher.  For  a  time  Spener  wished  to 
resign;  but  supported  by  the  consciousness  of  his 
innocence,  he  continued  in  the  administration  of 
his  ofhce.  This  condition  of  affairs  remained  the 
same  for  a  year,  and  there  was  hope  that  the 
anger  of  the  Elector  would  finally  subside.  But 
it  happened  that  in  conversation  with  a  person  of 
rank,  the  Elector  was  assured  that  this  person 
had  been  shown  copies  of  the  offensive  letter 
sent  by  Spener  and  the  answer  thereto.  The 
Elector,  believing  this,  was  again  made  furious 
against  Spener.  The  latter  was  questioned  in 
the  matter  by  two  privy  Councilors  sent  by  the 
Elector;  but  his  assurances  that  the  letters  had 
never  passed  out  of  his  hands,  and  that  no  one 
had  copied  a  line  of  them,  were  all  made  in  vain. 
The  Elector  determined  upon  the  removal  of 
Spener  from  his  service,  and  was  not  long  in  find- 
ing a  suital)le  occasion  to  accomplish  this.  The 
position  of  Provost,  or  superintendent  in  the  St. 
Nicholas  Church  at  Berlin  was  left  vacant,  and 
Spener  was  quietly  a^Dproached  concerning  his 
acceptance  of  the  position.  His  answer  Avas  an 
evasive  one,  and  Teuber  was  called  to  the  position 
in  his  stead.  But  Teuber  lived  only  a  few  months 
after  taking  charge  of  his  new  office,  and  the 
Brandenburg  government  formall}'  repeated  the 
call  to  Sj^ener. 

Others  might  have  looked    upon   this   uncon- 
ditionally as  a  divine  call,  and  have  gladly  seized 


72  SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

the  opportunity  to  free  themselves  from  a  difficult 
situation;  but  not  so  Spener.  He  answered,  that 
he  was  ready  to  go  anywhere  that  God  would  lead 
him,  as  soon  as  he  was  certain  that  he  Avas  di- 
vinely called  to  another  position.  He  was  not 
yet  satisfied  that  he  should  leave  an  office  to 
which  he  had  evidently  been  divinely  led,  al- 
though he  was  no  longer  able  to  work  in  it  as  he 
wished  to  do.  Not  until  the  Brandenburg  gov- 
ernment and  the  Saxon  should  come  to  an  agree- 
ment in  the  matter,  without  an}^  intervention  of 
his  own,  should  he  feel  that  the  will  of  God  was 
in  it. 

The  Brandenburg  government  did  not  under- 
stand the  situation  of  Spener  at  Dresden,  and  did 
not  suppose  that  his  resignation  would  be  accepted 
at  the  Saxon  Court.  No  advance  in  the  matter 
■  was  therefore  made,  and  the  negotiations  ceased. 
In  the  meanwhile,  at  the  approach  of  the  winter 
of  1690,  the  Saxon  Elector  returned  from  his 
campaign  on  the  Rhine.  He  soon  complained 
that  he  could  not  live  in  his  palace  because  of 
Spener,  and  sought  to  obtain  his  resignation, 
promising  him  a  considerable  pension  for  the  rest 
of  his  life,  in  case  he  would  transfer  his  services 
elsewhere.  But  Spener  declined  decidedly  the 
whole  proposition;  first,  because  it  would  seem  to 
admit  a  suspicion  of  fault  and  offense  toward  the 
Elector;  and  again,  because  he  would  not  of  his 
own  will  lay  down  an  office  to  which  he  had  been 
divinely  directed.  The  Saxon  Princess,  wife  of 
the  Elector,  especially  loved  Spener  and  prized 
his  services,  and  she  now  strove  to  act  as  a  paci- 
fying agent  between  Spener  and  her  husband. 
She  proposed  that  Spener  should  occupy  a  City 
Church  instead  of  the  Palace  Chapel;  but  this 
Spener,  also,  declined  to  do.     The  Elector  would 


SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK.  73 

hear  no  reason  in  the  matter  of  Spener's  removal; 
but  continued  in  his  determination  to  accompHsh 
it.  A  hint  from  the  Saxon  Court  about  the  situ- 
ation reached  Berhn,  and  immediately  formal 
propositions  for  Spener's  removal  were  sent  to  the 
Elector  by  the  Brandenburg  Government.  The 
Elector,  with  his  own  hand,  wrote  the  required 
dismissal,  granting  with  it  all  costs  of  travel  and 
a  ^  pension  to  Spener  for  life,  which  reverted  to 
his  wife  in  case  she  survived  him.  Two  days 
after  came  the  call  from  Berlin  to  the  office  of 
Provost,  which  included  that  of  Inspector  and 
Consistorial  Councilor. 

The  parting  of  Spener  with  the  Princess  and 
her  two  young  sons  was  painful  and  reluctant; 
and  was  never  entire,  since  Spener  remained  the 
Counselor  and  Confessor  of  the  Princess  through 
the  long  years  of  her  widowhood,  the  Elector  not 
long  surviving  the  departure  of  Spener. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SPENER    AS     PRESIDENT     OF    THE     CONSISTORY,     AND 

PROVOST     AT     BERLIN PIETISTICAL      EXTREMES 

THE     CONFESSIONAL PIETISTIC     CONTROVERSY  — 

ATTEMPTS  AT  CHURCH  UNION. 

Thus  had  the  providence  of  God  led  Spener  in 
his  appointed  work  from  the  South  to  the  North 
through  Germany.  His  present  position  was  not 
at  all  equal  in  outward  splendor  or  in  revenue  to 
the  one  which  he  had  just  vacated;  but  he  did 
not  consider  it  from  a  worldly  point  of  view.  He 
saw  only  the  work  which  was  to  be  done  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  and  rejoiced  sincerely  at  the 
change.  He  found  in  the  great  Church  broader 
opportunities  for  good  than  in  the  small  Court 
congregation  at  Dresden.  He  soon  observed  in 
his  hearers  an  earnest  desire  for  the  powerful 
preaching  of  God's  Word.  He  also  found  the 
Lutheran  Church  here  much  better  than  those 
outside  the  State  had  thought;  not,  however,  in 
relation  to  its  evangelical  life,  but  in  its  relation 
to  the  State.  The  ruling  Elector,  Frederick  the 
Third,  was  Reformed;  but  he  treated  the  Lutheran 
and  Reformed  Churches  with  equal  love  and  jus- 
tice. The  earlier  strife  between  these  denomina- 
tions had  been  entirely  quieted,  while  the  liberties 
of  the  Lutheran  Church  were  in  no  way  interfered 
with.  Lutherans  were  not  limited  in  the  use  of 
their  orders  of  worship,  and  had  the  liberty  of 
preaching  from  the  pulpit  concerning  the  points 
in  dispute  between  them  and  the  Reformed 
(74) 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK.  75 

Church,  on  the  sole  condition  that  they  refrained 
from  offensive  language  and  slanders.  The  gov- 
ernment provided  for  the  prosperity  of  the  Luth- 
eran Church,  by  proper  ordinances  for  the  exami- 
nation of  candidates,  and  the  teaching  of  the 
Catechism  by  the  preachers.  The  custom  of  exor- 
cism at  baptism  was  left  free  to  those  who  desired 
it;  but  no  one  dared  to  force  it  upon  others. 

Spener  found  here  that  spirit  of  love  and  gen- 
tleness in  which  the  Church  has  never  failed  to 
prosper. 

To  these  conditions  Spener,  with  his  wisdom 
and  moderation,  was  admirably  suited  to  move 
forward  toward  the  possession  of  those  excellent 
opportunities  to  which  he  was  especially  called. 
The  love  and  respect  with  which  he  was  received 
increased,  and  it  continued  in  undiminished 
strength  long  after  his  death,  nor  Avas  it  ever 
shaken  through  all  the  attacks  and  calumnies  to 
which  he  Avas  subjected  by  his  enemies.  This 
fidelity  enabled  him  to  serve  the  people  with  great 
success  and  benefit,  not  only  in  local  affairs,  but 
throughout  the  entire  province.  His  work  in  the 
Consistory  was  the  same  that  he  had  had  in  Dres- 
den; but  as  Provost,  he  was  entirely  free  from 
official  and  pastoral  work.  He  was,  however, 
obliged  to  preach  twice  each  week,  to  superintend 
the  schools  and  inspect  the  diocese.  From  the 
beginning  of  his  work  here,  he  took  up  of  his  own 
accord  the  catechisation  of  the  people,  and  con- 
tinued it  with  his  usual  zeal.  Spener' s  actual 
work  here  was  much  more  burdensome  than  it 
had  been  in  Dresden;  but  his  relations  with  his 
colleagues  were  pleasant,  and  his  duties  were 
much  lightened,  when  a  few  months  after  his 
arrival  in  Berlin,  John  Caspar  Schade  was  ap- 
pointed his  assistant  in  office. 


76  SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK. 

During  the  same  year,  Spener  was  much  dis- 
quieted by  the  prospect  of  being  recalled  to  Dres- 
den. The  Elector  died,  and  Spener' s  return 
became  the  subject  of  discussion  at  the  Saxon 
Court,  but  was  followed  by  no  result  at  that  time. 
Later,  his  return  was  proposed;  but  the  proposi- 
tion met  with  no  encouragement. 

He  might  have  now  enjoyed  in  peace  and 
ciuietness  a  rich  and  blessed  harvest  from  his 
years  of  (Christian  labor,  had  he  not  again  been 
attacked  by  his  adversaries  and  drawn  into  one 
controversy  after  another.  These  disputes  lasted 
long  after  his  death;  and  while  he  lived  he 
was  daily  called  to  mourn  for  the  storm-shaken 
Church. 

He  had  guarded  his  movements  in  the  Church 
with  the  greatest  care.  He  had  striven  to  bind 
into  one  the  intelligence  and  holy  life  of  the 
Church,  and  had  always  warned  against  an 
empty  enthusiasm.  But  to  his  account  were 
charged  all  of  the  excesses  into  which  pietism 
fell.  Pulpits,  tracts  and  books  were  used  as 
means  of  attack,  and  became  the  instruments  of 
a  bitter  war  of  words.  All  the  chief  theologians 
of  Germany  were  joined  to  one  party  or  the  other 
in  attacking  or  defending  the  Pietists.  The  term 
Pietist  became  a  nick-name  for  all  departures 
from  custom  and  every  heresy  or  schism  in  the 
Church. 

The  faithful  preaching  of  Spener,  his  zealous 
efforts  to  purify  the  Church  and  advance  the 
cause  of  vital  religion,  were  no  doubt  the  prime 
cause  of  these  disputes.  And  as  the  truth  is 
always  attended  by  error,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
but  that  many  perversions  and  abuses  attended 
the  wide-spread  results  of  his  work.  There  were 
not  a  few  fanatical  souls  whose  test  of  religion 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WOKK.  77 

was  asceticism,  a  manner  of  walk,  a  style  of  cloth- 
ing or  a  form  of  speech.  Some,  and  these 
usually  women,  pretended  or  imagined  them- 
selves to  be  inspired,  or  especially  illuminated  in 
mind  as  to  the  Scriptures. 

Spener  had  adopted  the  more  moderate  and 
purer  form  of  Chiliasm,  believing  that  the  Church 
of  Grod  would  be  purified  from  eveiy  evil,  and 
linally  reign  supreme  in  the  world.  Many  others, 
however,  seized  upon  this  idea  and  carried  it  to  a 
most  extravagant  length. 

Hypocrisy,  which  is  a  pretending  to  something 
that  we  do  not  possess,  and  which  may  arise  from 
design  or  from  self-deception,  was  another  result 
of  the  movement.  This  kind  of  affectation  was 
adopted  by  several  of  the  German  princes  and 
also  by  the  king  of  Denmark,  and  Avas  the  cause 
of  a  wide-spread  assumption  of  pious  manners 
and  speech,  in  order  to  gain  favor  with  these 
courts.  There  was  also  temptation  to  run  into 
extreme  religious  excitement.  There  were  many 
religious  meetings  for  edification,  and  the  editica- 
tion  was  by  means  of  singing  hymns,  offering 
prayer  and  reading  the  Scriptures.  Connected 
with  this  was  also  Scripture  reading  and  worship 
in  the  familv.  This  was  all  to  be  desired  in 
moderation;  but  some  laid  stress  on  tlie  number 
of  meetings  attended,  the  length  of  prayers,  and 
the  mingling  of  religion  in  common  conversation. 
The  outward  act,  and  not  the  spirit  and  life, 
became  the  object  in  the  eyes  of  many;  and  merit 
was  therefore  attached  to  the  observance  of  these 
things. 

All  this  Spener  bitterly  deplored;  but  he  never- 
theless held  himself  above  the  injuries  to  which 
he  was  subjected,  either  by  his  followers  or  his 
adversaries.     He  strove  by  every  means  to  teach 


78  SPENER   AND    HIS   WORK. 

the  truth  in  all  moderation  and  to  bear  himself 
with  loving  kindness  toward  all. 

The  establishment  of  the  University  of  Halle 
was  one  of  the  most  important  events  in  the  life 
of  Spener,  as  it  was  also  in  the  history  of  the 
Pietistic  controversies  and  the  Protestant  theology. 
It  was  the  carrying  out  of  one  of  Spener' s  chief 
desires,  and  was  due  to  his  representations  of  its 
great  value  in  shaping  the  future  of  the  Church 
in  a  province  of  so  much  importance.  As  we 
shall  hereafter  see,  it  became  the  stronghold  of 
moderate  Church  reforms  and  of  a  strong  phil- 
anthropic and  religious  life. 

Amid  the  distresses  and  great  disquiet  caused 
by  the  Pietistic  questions,  there  arose  still  another, 
which,  Spener  complained,  brought  him  the  most 
difficult  experiences  of  his  life 

Among  the  many  corruptions  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  Spener  looked  upon  the  abuse  of  the 
Confessional  as  one  of  the  greatest.  Private  Con- 
fession had  been  unknown  in  the  ancient  Church; 
but  had  become  a  custom  of  the  Catholics,  which 
was  enforced  by  law  in  the  thirteenth  century. 
It  was  meant  to  afford  the  priest  opportunity  for 
an  exact  knowledge  of  the  spiritual  condition  of 
his  church  members,  that  he  might,  according  to 
need,  administer  rebuke  and  admonition.  Luther 
had  this  praiseworthy  object  also  in  view  when 
he  insisted  on  retaining  Private  Confession  in  the 
Church,  although  he  did  not  consider  it  necessary 
to  the  proj^er  enjoyment  of  the  holy  communion. 
But  now,  as  confession  was  practiced,  together 
with  the  absolution  following,  it  had  come  to  be 
with  many  an  opus  operatwn  which  but  served  as 
an  assurance  of  carnal  security.  Spener  had  long 
deplored  and  opposed  this  mistake  in  his  experi- 
ence with  his  congregations.     He  had  not  hesi- 


SPEXER   AND    HIS    WORK.  79 

tated  to  tell  frankly  what  a  burden  and  martyrdom 
the  confessional  was  for  conscientious  preachers, 
because  of  the  forgiv'eness  of  sin  announced  to  so 
many  unworthy  and  unrepentant  persons  who 
were  but  strengthened  in  their  sins.  The  power 
to  forgive  sin  he  said  was  not  a  human  attribute, 
but  a  divine  grace  through  which  fallen  sinners 
were  reconciled  to  God  and  the  congregation,  and 
strengthened  in  soul.  But  the  present  custom  of 
going  to  confession  and  seeking  absolution  at 
certain  times  in  order  to  be  admitted  to  com- 
munion he  considered  useless  and  even  harmful. 
The  confessor's  fee,  or  Beicht-2jfennig,  he  consid- 
ered a  shame  to  the  Church  and  had  long  desired 
it  to  be  discontinued.  But  he  saw  no  hope  of 
this,  partly  because  of  the  poverty  of  many  of 
the  preachers,  and  in  part  because  of  the  ad- 
vantage gained  through  it  over  their  congrega- 
tions, he  believed  that  it  would  be  easier  to  move 
heaven  and  earth  than  to  rob  them  of  this  idol. 

His  assistant,  Schade,  was  particularly  averse 
to  the  confessional;  and  being  of  a  melancholy 
disposition,  its  use  so  disturbed  him  that  he  was 
relieved  of  the  formal  hearing  of  confession  at  the 
confessional,  and  was  placed  in  the  sacristy  where 
he  should  have  opportunity  to  speak  from  the 
heart  with  the  erring  children  of  the  Church.  But 
this  did  not  quiet  his  anxiety,  and  in  a  short  time 
he  published  a  small  tract,  entitled:  "A  Few 
Questions  from  the  Confessional."  He  hoped  to 
receive  satisfactory  answers  to  this,  but  did  not. 
He,  therefore,  soon  followed  with  another:  "Prac- 
tice of  the  Confessional  and  Communion." 

This  little  work  was  so  severe  in  its  character 
and  expressions,  that  Spener  declared  that  when 
he  read  it,  he  was  shocked  almost  to  death. 

Schade  admitted  the  great  value  that  Luther 


80  SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

had  foreseen  in  the  confessional;  but  said  that  his 
practical  experience  had  taught  him  different 
things  concerning  it.  That  while  it  was  not  al- 
ways injurious  or  valueless,  that  its  limited  value 
was  no  compensation  for  its  dreadful  abuses. 
"Praise  it  who  will,"  he  says,  "I  say,  Beicht- 
stuhl !  Satanstuhl !  Feaerpfahl ! ' ' 

These  hard  expressions  caused  general  excite- 
ment in  t»he  Church,  which  Schade  further  in- 
creased by  assembling  those  who  were  to  commune 
in  the  sacristy  on  the  following  Sunday  all  to- 
gether, instead  of  singly,  where  he  publicly  and 
touchingly  admonished  them.  Then  he  knelt  in 
prayer  for  them,  and  repeated  a  general  confession 
aloud,  instructed  them  how  to  prepare  in  the  most 
worthy  way  for  communion,  and  having  absolved 
them  all  together,  and  aloud,  dismissed  them  with 
the  benediction.  This  occurred  two  successive 
Sundays,  and  meanwhile  Schade  refused  to  occupy 
the  private  confessional. 

The  congregations  and  the  ministerium  were 
disquieted  and  divided  in  sentiment.  Spener 
sympathized  with  his  colleague,  but  also  blamed 
him  for  his  rashness.  A  number  of  citizens  de- 
manded that  Schade  be  required  to  return  to  the 
customary  use  of  the  confessional  or  that  he  be 
removed  from  office.  The  Elector,  being  now  in 
Prussia,  caused  an  investigation  of  the  complaints 
and  demands  to  be  made.  The  commission  ap- 
pointed to  examine  into  the  matter  was  composed 
of  one  Berlin  magistrate,  nine  Lutheran  members 
of  the  Electoral  Council,  and  the  Ministerium  of 
the  St.  Nicholas  Church.  A  deputation  of  citi- 
zens, through  an  advocate,  presented  their  com- 
plaint against  Schade,  who  most  excellently  de- 
fended himself  in  person. 

But  another  body  of  citizens  from  Berlin  and 


SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK.  81 

Coein  also  appeared  by  an  advocate,  and  ob- 
jected to  the  complaint  which  had  been  made 
without  their  knowledge  or  consent,  and  pleaded 
earnestly  for  their  true-hearted  preacher  and 
pastor.  They  also  demanded  that  the  use  of  the 
private  confessional  be  left  free  to  every  person 
according  to  conscience,  and  that  those  who 
wished,  be  admitted  to  communion  without  con- 
fession. 

They  said  that  until  they  had  been  taught 
better,  they  had  made  an  idol  of  the  confessional, 
and  had  believed  that  without  private  confession 
there  was  no  forgiveness  of  sin.  Now  they  knew, 
that  while  in  the  Church  confession  and  absolu- 
tion was  necessary,  private  confession  was  not, 
that  Luther  had  not  so  held  it,  and  that  Christ 
had  instituted  the  holy  communion  without  it. 
They  admitted  that  private  confession  had  long 
been  an  offense  to  them,  and  that  they  had  only 
submitted  to  it  through  obedience  to  the  order 
of  worship  in  use. 

Spener  was  greatly  surprised  by  this  unex- 
pected interference  and  the  expression  of  these 
adverse  sentiments.  He  had  been  entirely  ig- 
noront  of  the  mind  of  the  people  on  the  subject. 
One  of  the  Electoral  Council  had  complained 
privately  to  him  in  the  same  manner;  but  he  had 
come  from  an  Alsatian  congregation  where  the 
use  of  the  confessional  had  not  been  required, 
and  Spener  had  advised  him  quietly  to  accept 
the  custom  for  fear  of  offense  and  divisions.  But 
while  he  was  striving  to  bring  about  peace  and 
quiet  in  the  Church,  Spener  now  foresaw  the  be- 
ginning of  new  disquiet  and  division  as  the  result 
of  this  disturbance.  Nor  was  he  disappointed. 
The  commission  was  asked  to  express  themselves 
severally   in   writing    concerning    the   question  ; 


82  SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK. 

and  so  closely  was  the  matter  argued  that  no  de- 
cision was  reached.  It  was  then  referred  to  the 
two  Ministeriums  of  Coeln  and  Berlin  to  suggest 
means  by  which  the  confessional  should  be  freed 
from  its  abuses,  and  especially  to  find  means  by 
which  the  offensive  confessor's  fee  should  be  dis- 
continued and  the  preacher  be  indemnified  for  its 
loss.  Meanwhile^  Spener  strove  to  quiet  the  citi- 
zens by  kindly  warnings  as  to  the  difficulties  and 
divisions  likely  to  occur  should  their  demands 
be  persisted  in;  but  as  he  was  unsuccessful  in 
this,  he  finally  allowed  the  most  zealous  against 
the  confessional  to  receive  communion  after  a 
preparatory  sermon  and  confession  and  absolution. 

Writings  appeared,  however,  that  added  new 
fuel  to  the  fire,  and  Spener  strove  from  the  pulpit 
to  influence  his  people  to  return  to  the  old  order 
of  things,  and  to  heal  the  differences  between 
them.  But  the  party  zeal  was  too  great,  and  con- 
tinued to  embitter  the  Church  long  after  Schade's 
death,  which  occurred  in  July,  1694,  before  the 
commission  had  time  to  render  a  decision  in  the 
matter  of  the  confessional. 

But  a  decision  was  finally  reached  in  Novem- 
ber of  the  same  year,  and  the  Elector  announcod 
that  the  use  of  the  private  confessional  should 
remain  to  those  who  desired  it;  but  that  every 
Saturday  afternoon  a  preparatory  sermon  should 
be. preached  to  communicants,  and  that  those  to 
whom  private  confession  was  offensive  should  be 
allowed  to  commune  without  it,  provided  they 
presented  themselves  during  the  preceding  week 
to  the  pastor  for  preparation  in  the  line  of  his 
pastoral  office.* 

■^  The  frequency  of  the  preparatory  sermon  and  communion 
was  due  to  the  large  numbers  of  people  included  in  a  single 
congregation.  Some  were  obliged  to  commune  every  vSunday 
in  order  to  reach  the  whole  congregation  once  or  tAvice  a  year. 


SPEXER    AND    HIS    WORK.  83 

Wittenberg  and  Leipzig  and  other  schools  and 
pastorates  now  joined  in  the  dispute,  which  did 
not  fail  in  painful  condemnation,  accusation,  and 
grave  misunderstanding,  in  which  too  great  zeal 
and  passion  sometimes  obscured  truth  and  justice. 

While  Spener  was  engaged  with  these  immedi- 
ate difficulties,  the  pietistic  strife  again  broke  out, 
and  Avritings  appeared  in  which  Spener  was  so 
misrepresented  that  he  felt  obliged  to  defend  him- 
self for  the  sake  of  the  Church  and  his  position. 
This  renewed  controversy  did  not  soon  abate. 
Spener  was  often  compromised  by  the  extreme 
expressions  and  conduct  of  those  claiming  to  be 
true  Pietists,  and  again  by  the  appearance  of  cer- 
tain works  of  a  decidedly  Chiliastic  character, 
which  he  had  not  known  of  and  did  not  even  read. 

A  long  dispute  was  again  renewed  over  the 
proper  conduct  of  church  members,  the  Pietists 
demanding  that  dancing,  theatre-going,  novel 
reading,  elegant  and  gay  clothing  and  improper 
modes  of  conversation  be  abjured,  while  the  great 
majority  of  the  pastors  and  church  members  held 
them  to  be  quite  indifferent  matters. 

It  now  seemed  as  if  so  many  persons  and  opin- 
ions had  entered  into  the  Pietistic  controversy 
that  an  increase  of  the  excitement  was  no  longer 
possible.  And  yet  this  occurred  through  an  at- 
tempt to  unite  the  two  Protestant  Churches. 
The  plan  for  a  union  of  the  Lutheran  and  Cath- 
olic Churches  which  had  but  lately  been  proposed 
was  frustrated;  and  now  the  moment  seemed 
favorable  for  a  Protestant  union.  The  Elector  of 
Brandenburg  had  taken  upon  himself  the  royal 
honors  of  Prussia,  and  at  his  coronation  he  had 
promoted  two  court  preachers  to  the  bishopric,  an 
overture  to  the  English  Church,  Avhich  was  also 
included  in  the  unionistic  plan.     A  commission 


84  SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

of  learned  and  prominent  theologians,  both  of  the 
Reformed  and  Lutheran  churches  was  appointed, 
and  among  them  was  included  Spener. 

But  Spener  declined  to  act.  He  had  often  been 
accused  of  departing  from  Lutheran  doctrine,  and 
he  felt  that  these  accusations  would  seem  to  be  true 
in  case  he  should  act  freely  in  the  matter  of  union. 

He  had  been  in  favor  of  union;  but  felt  that 
it  was  far  from  advisable  at  this  time.  He  be- 
lieved that  the  condition  of  the  two  branches  of 
the  Church  would  not  admit  of  union,  that  a 
better  spiritual  condition  must  exist  before  it 
would  be  possible,  and  that  those  who  could  not 
then  live  in  peace  and  brotherly  love  in  the 
Church  of  their  choice,  assuredly  could  not,  when 
united  to  any  dissenting  body.  He  said  that  the 
division  of  the  Church  was  an  old  and  dangerous 
evil,  and  that  if  heedlessly  touched,  greater  evils 
would  result  which  would  prevent  the  final  heal- 
ing of  the  Church's  wounds;  and  that  it  Avere 
better  to  leave  the  trouble  as  it  was  than  to 
attempt  so  dangerous  a  cure. 

But  the  Commission  met  in  many  sessions. 
Various  proposals  for  union  were  submitted,  but 
came  to  naught.  The  Pietists  were  accused  of 
being  the  chief  seekers  after  union,  and  again 
there  was  an  exchange  of  controversial  writings. 
One  of  these,  by  a  professor  of  logic  in  a  gym- 
nasium at  Hamburg,  Sebastian  Edzardi,  was  so 
passionate  and  slanderous  against  the  Pietists, 
especially  Spener,  that  the  theological  faculty  of 
Halle  complained,  and  upon  an  inquiry  held  by 
the  government,  the  king  ordered  the  public 
burning  of  many  of  these  slanderous  writings, 
and  the  order  was  duly  executed. 

This  was  the  last  great  commotion  in  the 
Church  which  occured  during  Spener' s  life. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SPENER's  private  life HIS  LAST  DAYS  AND  DEATH. 

Spener  of  all  his  contemporaries  had  looked 
the  deepest  into  the  infirmities  of  the  Church,  and 
had  worked  the  most  faithfully  for  their  healing 
according  to  the  powers  which  God  had  given 
him.  At  the  end  of  his  earthly  course,  he  could 
not  fail  to  be  pained  by  the  many  distresses  and 
divisions  which  she  yet  suffered.  But  on  the 
other  hand  he  was  quickened  by  the  glad  convic- 
tion that  much  of  the  good  seed  sown  by  him, 
through  God's  grace,  was  already  springing  up. 
He  felt  that  the  necessity  of  a  practical  Christian- 
ity was  now  beginning  to  be  everywhere  felt,  and 
that  his  ideal  was  coming  nearer  to  a  living  reality. 
Neither  were  there  lacking  kindly  men,  who 
awakened  by  his  own  ministry,  were  able  to 
carry  on  the  Avork  which  he  had  begun  according 
to  his  own  ideas.  His  hopes  especially  rested  on 
the  future  of  the  young  university  in  whose  estab- 
lishment he  had  taken  so  important  a  part,  and 
which  he  had  continued  to  watch  over  with  such 
loAing  interest.  In  this  he  hoped  for  the  growth 
of  a  theology,  cleansed  from  the  hardness  and 
corruptions  of  scholasticism,  and  by  which  the 
younger  generation  should  be  led  from  an  empty 
and  rambling  pompousness  to  solid  and  healthful 
religious  knowledge. 

Spener  had  now  come  to  feel  his  growing  age 
and  weakness;  but  his  interest  and  activity  in  the 
(85) 


80  SPENER    AND    HIS    WORK. 

Church  did  not  in  any  wise  diminish.  At  his  re- 
quest he  had  been  given  an  especial  assistant  in 
Archdeacon  Blankenburg;  but  the  extra  time 
which  this  appointment  afforded  him  was  used 
for  the  general  good  of  the  Church. 

He  yet  preached  twice  each  week  without  diffi- 
culty, and  kept  up  his  usual  catechetical  teaching 
and  pastoral  and  consistorial  business.  In  the 
last  years  of  his  life  he  received  great  and  merited 
distinction  through  the  appearance  of  a  collection 
of  his  theological  treatises.  These  were  rich  in 
matters  of  experience,  observation,  retrospections 
and  warnings  for  theologians,  preachers  and  Chris- 
tians of  all  stations. 

All  of  these  treatises  did  not  appear  until  after 
his  death.  The  last  of  them  were  finally  col- 
lected and  printed  at  Frankfort,  and  only  then 
was  it  seen  in  what  a  wide  sphere  he  had  worked. 
From  them  were  best  learned  his  merits,  his 
gifts,  his  ideals,  his  intellect  and  activity  and  the 
exact  condition  of  the  Church,  and  the  move- 
ments with  which  he  was  connected.  In  all  cases 
one  finds  him  exercising  a  free,  thoughtful  and 
equitable  judgment  drawn  from  the  fountain  of 
the  divine  Word,  showing  reason  and  knowledge 
of  mankind  as  well  as  a  deep  acquaintance  with 
Christian  truth  and  the  foundation  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Church.  Withal  his  writings  are  marked 
by  wisdom  and  modesty,  and  they  are  for  all  time 
a  treasure  to  the  student  and  preacher.  It  is  only 
to  be  regretted  that  these  writings  are  of  a  heavy 
and  tedious  style,  a  fault  which  was  always 
known  and  acknowledged  by  the  author. 

In  this  presentation  of  Spener's  public  life  we 
have  found  little  room  to  speak  of  his  home  life. 
The  whole  of  it  might  be  summed  up  in  two 
words:  work  and  prayer.     Every  important  busi- 


SPENER   AND    HIS   WORK.  87 

ness  was  begun  by  calling  upon  God.  He  rose 
while  it  was  yet  dark  to  accomplish  that  for  which 
he  needed  no  light:  he  prayed  alone,  then  he 
assembled  his  entire  household  to  morning 
prayers.  Every  event  and  movement  of  life  was 
held  up  to  God  in  prayer,  and  then  submitted 
trustfully  to  the  divine  will.  He  slept  quietly 
and  healthfully,  and  rose  regularly  at  half-past 
five  o'clock,  and  on  Sundays  at  four.  He  worked 
the  entire  forenoon  without  intermission,  and 
rarely  allowed  anj^thing  to  disturb  him.  He 
dined  at  midday  and  after  a  short  sleep,  taken 
sitting  in  his  chair,  went  again  about  his  work. 
In  the  later  afternoon  he  received  all  visitors,  and 
during  conversation  with  them  he  either  stood  or 
walked  the  floor,  in  order  thus  to  take  some 
necessary  exercise.  He  took  his  simple  evening 
meal  alone  in  his  room  to  save  time.  Sunday 
afternoon  he  inspected  the  churches,  and  upon 
the  way  read  some  book,  for  which  he  could  find 
no  other  time.  When  he  took  a  journey,  he  pre- 
pared lectures  as  he  traveled.  There  was  a  garden 
behind  his  house  in  Berlin,  but  it  is  said  that  he 
never  visited  it  but  twice,  and  then  only  for  a  few 
minutes.  His  household  and  habits  of  dress  were 
simple,  and  he  always  went  about  the  city  on 
foot,  never  indulging  in  the  luxury  of  a  carriage. 
He  rarely  accepted  invitations,  and  on  the  few 
occasions  that  he  dined  with  friends,  did  not  de- 
part from  his  usual  abstemious  habits.  He  was 
of  serene  and  cheerful,  but  earnest,  speech.  De- 
spite his  fine  discernment  of  character,  he  seemed 
unable  to  beheve  that  any  one  could  purposely 
deceive  him,  and  the  bitterest  experiences  in  this 
respect  never  caused  him  to  close  his  heart  against 
those  seeking  his  counsel  and  help.  He  was  a 
sympathizing   friend,   a   father   to  the  poor  and 


88  SPENER   AND   HIS   WORK. 

needy,  who  never  turned  from  him  without  com- 
fort and  assistance.  He  was  a  faithful  colleague 
in  office,  and  an  exemplary  husband  and  father. 
He  was  not  ashamed  to  confess  his  faults  openly, 
and  often  begged  his  congregation  to  remind  him 
of  his  failures,  and  received  such  reminders  from 
the  commonest  people  with  gentleness  and  thanks. 
All  these  merits  were  crowned  by  a  sincere  humi- 
lity that  was  evident  in  all  his  words  and  deeds. 
He  was  averse  to  hearing  any  public  praise  of' 
himself  or  his  work.  He  only  allowed  his  por- 
trait to  be  painted  when  his  friends  represented 
that  he  could  thereby  assist  a  very  poor  but 
Avorthy  artist. 

Spener  preached  for  the  last  time  before  his 
congregation  early  in'  June,  1704.  He  then  vis- 
ited his  old  friend  and  patron,  the  widowed 
Electress,  and  preached  to  her  on  the  difference  in 
the  death  of  the  believer  and  the  unbeliever. 
After  his  return  he  commenced  a  letter  to  a  friend 
but  could  not  finish  it,  being  overtaken  by  ex- 
treme weakness.  He  became  ill  and  felt  that  his 
end  was  near.  On  the  eleventh  of  June,  he  called 
about  him  all  his  colleagues  of  the  St.  Nicholas 
Church.  To  them  he  spoke  of  the  agreement  of 
his  faith  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Evangelical 
Church  and  the  Symbolical  Books,  and  of  many 
other  things  near  his  heart.  He  held  fast  to  his 
faith  in  better  times  for  the  Church,  and  said  that 
he  had  striven  faithfully  to  discharge  the  duties 
of  his  office,  but  that  he  had  failed  in  much,  for 
which  he  hoped  God  would  forgive  him.  He 
expressed  no  hope  in  his  own  righteousness, 
but  trusted  in  God's  grace  through  Jesus  Christ. 
He  reminded  his  colleagues  of  his  love  for  them 
and  of  his  daily  prayers  in  their  behalf,  and 
admonished  them  earnestly  to  preserve  unity  and 


SPENER   AND    HIS    WORK.  89 

peace  among  themselves.  To  this  he  added  that 
he  held  the  pastoral  care  of  the  congregation  to  be 
the  chief  treasure  of  the  preacher's  office,  and  re- 
gretted that  he  had  been  prevented  by  the  duties 
of  office  from  the  exercise  of  it  in  Berhn  and 
Dresden.  He  spoke  of  his  theological  adver- 
saries, and  called  his  friends  to  witness  his  good 
will  toAvard  them  and  his  good  wishes  for  them. 
After  this,  he  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able  to 
work  a  little  in  his  room,  and  his  friends  hoped 
for  his  complete  restoration;  but  with  the  be- 
ginning of  winter  more  serious  symptoms  set  in 
and  he  grew  steadily  weaker.  As  his  Aveakness 
increased  he  Avas  filled  Avith  ecstatic  joy  that  he 
kncAV  to  be  the  approach  of  his  final  release.  On 
the  13th  of  Januar}^,  in  the  year  1705,  Avhich  Avas 
his  seventieth  birthday,  he  prayed  aloud,  thank- 
ing God  for  his  grace  and  pleading  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  his  sins.  He  took  leave  of  the  king  by 
-letter,  begging  for  his  care  over  the  treasures 
which  he  left  behind  him:  the  Church,  the 
schools  and  his  beloved  family. 

He  forbade  his  burial  in  black,  saying  that  he 
had  sorrowed  enough  over  the  Church  on  earth, 
and  wished  to  enter  the  Church  triumphant, 
shoAving  by  his  white  garment  that  he  died  hop- 
ing better  things  for  the  Church  militant. 

Spener  died  quietly  on  the  5th  of  February, 
1705.  On  the  evening  of  the  12th  of  February, 
he  was  buried  in  the  favorite  spot  chosen  by  him- 
self. Thousands  came  to  honor  this  true  shep- 
herd as  he  Avas  borne  to  his  last  resting  place. 
In  many  more  his  spirit  liA^ed  on;  for  he  led  men 
from  death  unto  life. 


AUGUSTUS  HERMANN  FRANCKE 
AND  HIS  WORK. 


BY  MARIE  E.  RICHARD. 


"But  they  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength;  they 
ehall  mount  up  ivith  wings  as  eagles."— Isaiah  xl.  31. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

LUTHERAN  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY' 
1897. 


Copyright,  1897, 

BY 

THE  LUTHERAN  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY. 


AUGUST  HERMANN  FRANCKE 
AND  HIS  WORK. 


CHAPTER  I. 


r-T'Ti^'a 


FRAXCKE'S  YOUTH  AND  STUDENT  LIFE. 

Augustus  Hermann  Francke  was  born  in 
Liibeck,  in  the  nortliern  part  of  Germany,  on  the 
22d  day  of  March,  1663.  His  father,  John 
Francke,  was  a  distinguished  lawyer  of  that  city 
and  register  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Court.  His 
mother,  Anna,  Avas  the  daughter  of  David  Gloxin, 
who  had  been  the  first  mayor  of  Liibeck.  In  the 
year  1666  John  Francke  was  called  to  Gotha  by 
Ernest  the  Pious,  as  Court  Counselor  and  in- 
spector of  schools,  and  removed  there  with  hjs 
family.  But  his  service  there  was  short,  as  he 
died  in  1670,  when  the  young  Augustus  was  but 
seven  years  old.  He  left  six  living  children, 
Augustus  being  the  fourth,  and  these  the  wid- 
owed mother  continued  to  guide  and  educate  in 
the  way  begun  by  the  father,  uniting  strict  piety 
with  learning  and  practical  intelligence.  In  this 
she  was  materially  assisted  by  her  daughter, 
Anna,  a  girl  of  a  peculiarly  sensitive,  religious 
disposition.  Being  next  older  than  her  brother 
Augustus,  they  Avere  much  associated  together, 
and  to  the  influence  of  this  sister  Avas  doubtless 
(  93  ) 


94  FRANCKE   AND    HIS   WORK. 

due  much  of  the  early  piety  exhibited  by  Francke. 
Together  they  read  the  Bible  and  those  books  most 
calculated  to  foster  a  truly  religious  spirit,  and 
finally  Francke  begged  for  a  private  and  secluded 
room,  where,  separated  from  the  family  and  his 
playmates,  he  might,  undisturbed,  pursue  his 
studies  and  give  voice  to  his  frequent  prayers. 

But  Anna  died  early,  and  Francke  was  left  to 
pursue  the  most  important  part  of  his  education 
de])rived  of  this  gentle  monitor,  with  whom  he 
had  been  accustomed  to  share  the  counsels  of  his 
heart. 

In  childhood  Francke  was  taught  privately; 
but  in  his  thirteenth  year  he  entered  the  high 
school  of  Gotha.  Here  he  spent  but  one  year, 
being  then,  despite  his  extreme  youth,  dismissed 
to  the  university,  his  preparation  being  consid- 
ered complete.  But  he  was  too  young  to  enter 
upon  the  independent  life  of  a  German  university, 
and  spent  the  two  years  next  following  in  the 
study  of  languages  at  home. 

At  this  time  Francke  had  already  determined 
upon  the  study  of  theology,  and  had  read  some 
books  with  reference  to  this  calling.  Attachment 
to  church  forms  and  an  external  morality  were 
the  only  qualifications  then  considered  necessary 
for  the  gospel  ministry,  and  Francke  seems  to 
have  been  moral  and  prudent  in  his  conduct. 
Outwardly  he  observed  his  early  devotional 
habits,  but  later  he  confessed  that  pride,  aml)i- 
tion,  and  zeal  in  his  intellectual  pursuits,  largely 
controlled  his  conduct  and  hindered  his  attention 
to  the  more  important  concerns. 

In  the  year  1679  he  entered  the  University  of 
Erfurt,  and  pursued  his  studies  for  a  time;  but  one 
of  his  maternal  uncles  held  a  family  scholarship 
at  the  University  of  Kiel,  and  in  order  to  receive 


FRA^XE:E  a^:d  his  wouk.  95- 

the  benefit  of  this  stipend,  Francke  soon  removed 
thither. 

At  Kiel  he  studied  Philosophy,  Physics,  Nat- 
ural History,  Latin,  Oratory,  Enghsh  and  Theo- 
logy. He  had  heard  that  Greek  and  Hebrew 
were  the  two  eyes  of  theology.  He  had  a  good 
foundation  in  Greek,  but  felt  hims  4f  weak  in  the 
Hebrew.  He  industriously  studied  the  Hebrew 
grammar,  and  began  to  analyze,  but  did  not  make 
satisfactory  progress.  In  1682  he  went  to  Ham- 
burg to  place  himself  under  the  celebrated  Hebrew 
teacher,  Ezra  Edzardi. 

Edzardi  directed  him  to  make  himself  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  the  first  four  chapters  of 
the  first  book  of  Moses,  so  that  he  understood 
every  word  in  them,  without  concerning  himself 
Avith  the  grammar,  and  when  he  had  accom- 
plished this  again  to  consult  him  as  to  his  further 
study. 

Francke  considered  this  a  useless  exercise,  but, 
nevertheless,  faithfully  obeyed  the  direction  of  the 
great  teacher,  and  again  presented  himself  for 
instruction.  To  his  astonishment  Edzardi  in- 
formed him  that  he  had  now  mastered  one- third 
of  the  Hebrew  vocabulary,  and  counseled  him  to 
read  the  Hebrew  Bible  through  repeatedly;  {lege 
hiblia,  relege  biblia,  repete  biblia);  only  after  this, 
he  assured  him,  Avould  a  deeper  study  of  the 
language  be  valuable.  Francke  remained  two 
months  more  in  Hamburg,  and  then  returned  to 
his  mother's  house  in  Gotha.  Here  he  read  the 
Hebrew  Bible  through  seven  times  in  one  year. 
The  first  reading  required  three  months;  but  after- 
ward he  Avould  read  it  entirely  through  m  six 
wrecks.  Through  these  readings  alone  he  became  so 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  HebrcAV  language 
that  he  never  lacked  for  a  word.     In  the  same 


96  FRANCKE   AND   HIS   WORK. 

year  he  took  up  the  study  of  French  and 
learned  it. 

While  engaged  in  these  studies  in  Gotha,  he 
heard  of  a  student  of  theology  in  Leipzig,  who, 
being  well  situated  and  in  good  financial  circum- 
stances, wished  to  find  a  young  man  to  share  his 
lodgings,  who  in  return  would  instruct  him  in 
Hebrew.  Francke  became  a  party  to  this  arrange- 
ment, and  in  1684,  about  Easter,  took  his  depart- 
ure for  Leipzig.  The  young  man  who  here  be- 
came his  companion  and  pupil  was  Wichmans- 
hausen,  who  so  prosj^ered  under  Francke' s 
teaching,  that  he  afterward  became  professor  of 
oriental  languages  at  Wittenberg. 

In  1685  Francke  took  the  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts,  and  began  to  lecture  in  Leipzig  as  Privat- 
docent.  His  lectures  were  well  attended,  and  he 
began  now  to  use  his  growing  influence  in  another 
direction.  Spener  and  his  Bible  study  in  Frank- 
fort had  become  famous,  and  the  practice  of 
holding  meetings  for  Bible  study  was  spreading. 
As  an  exercise  in  Bil)lical  exegesis,  Francke  and 
Paul  Anton,  with  other  private  lecturers  of  Leip- 
zig, established  a  Collegiuni  PJulolnhUcum. 

On  Sunday  a|ternoon,  following  the  afternoon 
sermon,  this  assembly  convened  and  spent  two 
hours  in  the  study  of  portions  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  But  notwithstanding  his  earnest 
theological  study,  he  says  of  himself  in  the  follow- 
ing year:  ''It  troubled  me  that  my  theological 
study  was  so  entirely  a  matter  of  pure  reason  and 
science.  I  begin  to  see  that  I  cannot  give  myself 
to  a  public  office  and  openly  teach  others  concern- 
ing things  of  which  I  am  not  convinced  in  my 
own  heart.  I  live  yet  in  worldly  society,  and. am 
surrounded  Avith  the  enticements  of  sin  with  all 
the   established   sinful   usages.     But  in  spite  of 


F^vA^XKE   AND    IITS    WORK.  97 

this  God  moves  my  heart  to  humble  myself  be- 
fore Him,  i:)lcading  for  grace,  and  often  on  my 
knees  I  pray  to  Him  that  He  will  make  me  a 
complete  child  of  God." 

In  this  same  year,  1687,  Francke  went  to 
Liineburg  for  study  under  the  celebrated  theolo- 
gian, Sandhagen.  Here  he  Avas  required  to  preach 
in  St.  John's  church,  and  this  threw  him  into 
great  distress  of  mind.  He  says:  "  I  was  of  such 
a  disposition  that  I  aimed  not  only  to  2:)reach  ac- 
ceptably, but  to  edify  my  hearers,  and  to  this 
end  chose  for  my  text  John  xx.  31 :  '  But  these 
things  are  written,  that  ye  might  believe  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God;  and 
that  believing  ye  might  have  life  through  .  his 
name.'  I  meant  to  use  this  text  to  show  the 
difference  between  a  true  and  living  faith,  and  the 
mistakes  of  a  mere  human  legalism.  As  I  came 
to  think  upon  this  with  all  earnestness,  I  became 
conscious  that  I  myself  had  not  the  faith  spoken 
of  in  the  text.  I  ceased  to  meditate  upon  the 
sermon,  and  found  enough  to  do  within  myself." 
He  sought  in  all  ways  and  by  erery  argument  to 
strengthen  his  faith;  but  the  more  he  strove  after 
the  truth  the  more  restless  and  doubting  he  be- 
came. In  turn  he  took  refuge  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  then  in  dogmatic  writings;  but  was  uncon- 
soled  by  either  the  words  of  God  or  men,  and 
found  as  little  strength  in  the  one  as  in  the  other. 
He  was  tormented  by  the  consciousness  of  his 
sins,  and  the  knowledge  that  they  had  rise  in  his 
own  lack  of  true  faith.  Alone,  and  in  great  dis- 
tress of  mind,  he  strove  to  lay  hold  of  the  truth. 
He  wept  and  prayed,  calling  upon  the  God  whom 
he  knew  not,  and  pleading  for  mercy  if  there  be  a 
God  in  heaven. 

One  Sunday  on  which  he  was  again  appointed 


98  FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK. 

to  preach  he  felt  that  he  must  again  dechne.  He 
could  not  conscientiously  preach  the  Word  of  God 
to  the  people  in  his  doubtful  and  disturbed  state 
of  mind.  Again  he  fell  on  his  knees  and  cried 
out  in  the  darkness  of  unbelief  to  God  and  the 
Saviour  for  light,  that  he  might  ])e  rescued  from 
his  miserable  situation.  ' '  Then, ' '  said  he,  ' '  the 
Lord  heard  me,  and  so  great  Avas  His  fatherly  love 
that  He  did  not  remove  my  doubts  and  fears  little 
by  little,  with  which  I  would  have  been  abund- 
antly satisfied;  but  He  heard  me  suddenly.  All 
doubts  disappeared.  I  was  assured  in  my  heart 
of  the  grace  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ.  I  not  only 
could  call  Him  God,  but  I  called  Him  also  Father. 
All  the  unrest  and  sadness  of  my  heart  were  taken 
away.  I  was  filled  with  joy,  and  praised  God 
with  a  full  heart.  In  trouble  and  doubt  I  had 
bowed  my  knee,  and  I  arose  in  the  unspeakable 
joy  of  certainty.  I  was  convinced  that  all  the 
world  with  its  joys  and  blessings  could  not  awaken 
such  pleasure  in  the  hearts  of  men  as  this,  and  I 
had  faith  that  after  such  a  foretaste  of  the  grace 
and  goodness  of  God,  the  world  with  its  allure- 
ments would  be  powerless  over  me." 

He  now  preached  with  joy,  and  from  this  time 
he  reckoned  his  true  conversion.  ' '  From  this 
time  on,"  he  says,  "Christianity  was  to  me  a 
serious  thing,  and  it  was  easy  to  deny  myself  un- 
godly pleasures  and  worldly  lusts.  God's  honor 
and  the  enlargement  of  His  kingdom  among  men, 
became  the  important  aim  of  life.  From  this 
time  on  promotion,  honor,  authority  in  the  world, 
riches,  joyous  days,  and  the  idolatry  of  worldly 
things,  I  no  longer  regarded. ' ' 

Later,  in  his  ' '  Confession  of  his  inner  walk  be- 
fore God, ' '  he  says  concerning  his  faith :  '■ '  Since 
the  moment  of  my  conversion  in  Llineberg,  it  has 


FRANCKE    AND    HIS    WORK.  99 

governed  my  entire  life.  It  is  this  confession  of 
faith  in  which  I  hve,  the  Avay  wherein  I  walk,  the 
truth  Avhich  I  have  learned  from  the  Holy  Scrijo- 
tures,  and  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  sealed  wpon 
my  heart,  the  narrow  way  wherein  I  run,  that  I 
may  be  guarded  from  all  false  ways  and  that  I 
may  grasp  the  whole  treasure  of  life.  I  know 
well  my  miserable  condition,  and  that  through 
original  sin,  and  also  through  actual  sins,  I  have 
deserved  death  and  condemnation;  the  Son  of 
God  has  given  Himself  for  me,  and  through  His 
blood,  reconciled  me  with  the  Father.  God 
attributes  to  me  no  more  sin,  but  has  justified  me 
because  I  believe  on  His  Only  Begotten  Son. ' ' 

The  faith  of  Francke  was  noAV  no  more  a  dogma 
to  be  believed,  but  a  life  to  be  lived,  a  j)ervading 
spirit  reaching  down  through  unreckoned  years. 

He  remained  in  Liineburg  until  near  Lent 
of  the  year  16vS8.  He  established  here  also  a 
class  for  Bible  study,  as  he  had  done  in  Leipzig. 
On  leaving  Liineburg  he  went  to  Hamburg.  Here 
he  formed  a  firm  and  lasting  friendship  Avith 
Nicholas  Lange,  who  was  teaching,  and  holding 
public  lectures  for  religious  edification.  In  Ham- 
burg Francke  estal)lished  a  private  school,  and 
here  was  awakened  in  him  the  first  desire  for  the 
great  work  which  he  afterward  undertook.  In 
this  school  he  discovered  how  inefficient  and 
corrupt  were  the  educational  systems  of  the  time, 
and  how  wretched  the  discipline  exercised  over 
children  generally.  The  results  of  his  exj)erience 
as  a  teacher  here  were  afterward  given  to  the 
public  in  a  writing  entitled  :  ' '  The  Education  of 
Children  in  Piety  and  Christian  Wisdom."  Re- 
membering these  experiences  afterward  when  in 
Halle,  "I  knew,"  he  said,  "that  the  then  exist- 
ing system  of  education  was  not  to  be  bettered  by 


100         FRANCKE  AND  HIS  WORK. 

the  writing  of  books  alone;  its  improvement  must 
be  demonstrated." 

Just  before  Christmas  of  1688,  Francke  returned 
to  Leipzig,  intending  again  to  hold  private  lectures 
and  continue  his  studies.  But  before  entering 
upon  his  work  there  he  determined  to  strengthen 
himself  by  an  acquaintance  and  short  association 
with  Spener,  whom  he  held  in  high  esteem. 

He,  therefore,  repaired  to  Dresden,  where 
Opener  was  then  court  preacher.  Francke  was  in- 
vited to  the  house  and  the  table  of  this  hospitable 
family,  and  here  was  sealed  that  intimate  friend- 
ship and  confidence  that  lasted  through  the  re- 
mainder of  Spener' s  life,  and  influenced  Francke' s 
entire  course. 

Francke  remained  with  Spener  two  months,  and 
declared  it  to  be  a  time  which  was  the  richest  in 
blessing  of  any  in  his  life.  He  returned  to  Leip- 
zig filled  with  zeal  and  joy  in  the  work  which  lay 
before  him.  Spener  had  inspired  him  anew  with 
a  desire  for  closer  study  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
advised  a  more  practical  exegetical  study  than 
Francke  had  hitherto  given  them.  In  addition 
to  his  lectures  in  the  university,  he  united  with 
Paul  Anton  and  John  Caspar  Schade  in  practical 
exegetical  readings  from  the  New  Testament. 
These  readings  met  with  general  approval.  Dr. 
John  Olearius,  then  rector  of  the  university, 
allowed  him  the  use  of  an  auditorium.  An  espec- 
ially near  friend  of  Francke' s  at  this  time,  was 
Joachim  Lange,  a  younger  brother  of  Francke' s 
Hamburg  friend,  who  afterward  became  a  distin- 
guished professor  in  the  University  at  Halle. 

Under  the  influence  of  the  course  of  Bible  study 
instituted  by  Francke  and  his  friends,  many 
students  were  brought  to  a  living  faith,  and  among 
others,  Gottfried  Olearius,  the  son  of  the  rector  of 


FPxAXCKE    AND    HIS    WORK.  101 

the  University.  Olearius,  the  elder,  confessed  to 
Francke  that  before  his  arrival  in  Leipzig  his  son 
had  been  far  from  promising;  but  that  he  was 
now  an  entirely  different  man,  and  that  he  had 
l)een  the  means  of  a  great  change  in  his  whole 
family.  There  Avere  many  instances  of  this  kind. 
The  lecture  room  Avas  crowded,  even  the  doors 
and  windows  being  filled.  Not  a  few  of  the  theo- 
logical students  who  had  been  without  piety  were 
];)rought  to  true  repentance  and  began  their  studies 
with  quite  a  new  spirit. 

Francke  himself  said :  "I  praise  the  Heavenly 
Father  that  I  am  assured  and  convinced  that 
many  have  come  to  a  righteous  and  true  repent- 
ance, have  denied  all  the  wickedness  and  worldly 
lusts,  and  seek  to  live  righteously  and  piously, 
bearing  with  Christian  patience  the  mocking  of 
those  other  students  who  remain  hardened  in  sin. ' ' 

But  there  were  those  who  were  envious  of  the 
popularit}'  of  the  young  lecturer.  He  was  accused 
of  pride,  that  he,  so  young  a  man,  should  be 
Ijetter  able  to  point  out  the  way  of  salvation  than 
his  older  and  more  learned  brethren. 

He  was  blamed  with  being  the  head  of  a  new 
sect,  a  leader  of  the  Pietists,  and  a  teacher  of 
error.  He  experienced  now  what  the  Saviour  had 
prophesied  for  His  disciples;  that  they  should  be 
hated  for  His  name's  sake. 

The  report  that  the  three  3"0ung  teachers  were 
not  pure  in  their  doctrine  spread  rapidly.  They 
were  said  to  teach  the  merit  of  good  works,  and 
not  being  satisfied  with  the  Scriptures,  to  depend 
upon  immediate  revelation. 

Hearing  this,  Francke  went  of  his  own  accord 
to  the  Dean  of  the  Theological  Faculty,  and 
begged  him  not  to  give  ear  to  such  groundless 
reports,  but  to  con^dnce  himself  of  their  falsity  by 


102  FRANCKE    AND    HIS    WORK. 

thorough  investigation.  The  Faculty  met  in 
council  over  the  matter,  and  an  examination  of 
Francke's  teaching  followed,  which  was  entirely 
satisfactory.  But  in  the  meantime  the  preachers 
of  the  city  were  aroused,  and  denounced  him  from 
the  pulpit. 

At  the  funeral  of  one  of  Francke's  hearers, 
Carpzov,  the  bitter  enemy  of  Spener,  uttered  hard 
things  against  all  pious  assemblies  and  their  sym- 
pathizers. He  declared  that  the  only  result 
would  be  rather  pious,  but  also  rather  illiterate 
students. 

The  attention  drawn  upon  Francke  and  his 
friends  by  this  sermon  was  increased  by  a  funeral 
poem  prepared  for  the  same  occasion  by  Prof. 
Joachim  Feller.     It  began  as  follows: 

Es  ist  jetzt  Stadt-bekannt  der  nam'  der  pietisten; 
Was  ist  ein  Pietist?  der  Gottes  Wort  studirt 
Und  nach  demselben  auch  ein  heilig  Leben  fuhrt. 

Through  this,  the  name  Pietist  came  really  into 
use;  it  spread  at  once  to  Dresden  as  the  name  of 
a  new  sect  which  had  sprung  up  in  the  Leipzig 
University. 

The  chief  Consistorium  of  the  city  now  ordered 
a  report  from  the  University  concerning  the  teach- 
ing of  Francke  and  his  friends;  and  in  October, 
1689,  Francke,  Schade,  Anton,  Ehlers,  Achilles, 
and  some  other  lecturers  who  were  suspected  of 
Pietism,  were  brought  to  a  formal  examination. 
The  result  of  this  inquiry  was  favorable  in  so  far 
that  no  ground  of  complaint  was  discovered,  and 
it  was  believed  that  many  of  the  adverse  reports 
arose  from  the  dissatisfaction  of  professors  who 
found  their  lectures  interfered  with  by  the  vigor- 
ous and  pious  work  of  these  young  men. 

But  despite  the  fact  that  his  innocence  had 
been   established,    Francke   was   called   upon   to 


FRAXCKE   AND    HIS   WORK.  103 

make  a  special  defense.  The  matter  was  taken 
up  by  various  theologians,  and  considerable  con- 
troversy ensued.  In  the  beginning  of  the  inquiry 
Francke  had  been  forbidden  to  continue  his  lec- 
tures pending  his  examination,  and  the  privilege 
was  not  again  permitted  him.  The  Philosophical 
Faculty,  however,  gave  him  permission  to  lecture, 
and  he  began  a  course  on  Jacob  Thomasius'  Tables 
de  affertitvs.  But  again  the  Theological  Faculty 
was  offended,  complaining  that  he  made  con- 
tinual use  of  Biblical  illustrations.  He  now 
formed  a  class  to  which  he  lectured  on  the  edu- 
cation and  discipline  of  the  young;  but  this  was 
soon  cut  short  by  the  death  of  an  uncle,  whose 
business  affairs  required  his  presence  in  Liibeck. 
This  ended  Francke' s  career  as  a  student  and 
private  lecturer  (Pnvat-docent).  In  June,  1690, 
he  received  a  call  as  assistant  in  the  Augustinian 
Church  at  Erfurt,  and  accepted  it. 


CHAPTER  II. 

FRANCKE   AS    PREACHER   AND    PASTOR   AT    ERFURT 

UNIVERSITY    OF    HALLE — FRANCKE    AS    PROFESSOR 
AND  PASTOR  AT  HALLE THE  PIETISTS. 

Francke,  who  well  knew  the  sentiments  of  the 
most  of  the  ministers  in  Erfurt,  expected  nothing 
but  the  most  violent  opposition  to  himself  and 
his  methods.  But  he  was  strengthened  and 
cheered  during  all  his  ministry  here  b}^  the  sup- 
port and  friendship  of  Dr.  Joachim  Justus  Breit- 
haupt,  whom  he  had  before  known  at  Kiel. 
These  two  found  themselves  in  hearty  accord  in 
their  work.  Both  preached  with  power  and 
effect,  and  preached  the  same  chief  doctrine: 
that  a  secure  and  only  outwardly  honorable  walk 
in  life  was  in  no  way  the  mark  of  a  true  Chris- 
tian; but  that  the  entire  inner  man  must  be  re- 
newed, that  the  corrupt  human  nature  must  be 
renewed  in  holiness,  and  from  this  must  spring 
the  fruitful  life  sustained  by  a  living  faith  in  the 
living  Saviour. 

Crowds  of  people  streamed  to  the  churches  to 
hear  the  preaching  of  these  two  men;  even  Cath- 
olics, in  great  numbers,  sought  them,  and  many 
were  moved  to  begin  a  new  religious  life,  and 
many  Catholics  went  over  to  the  Lutheran  Church. 

But  Francke  and  Breithaupt  did  not  confine 
themselves  to  preaching.  They  assembled  the 
people  in  their  houses  for  especial  religious  in- 
struction, taking  occasion  to  inform  themselves 
(104) 


FRANCKE    AND    HIS    WORK.  105 

as  to  the  individual  needs  of  the  people,  and  to 
speak  with  them  directly  from  their  hearts,  ex- 
ercising a  true  pastoral  care  for  their  spiritual 
welfare.  Francke  also  began  here  to  hold  daily 
lectures  on  the  Bible  for  students,  and  as  this 
became  known,  students  were  drawn  to  Erfurt 
from  Leipzig  and  Jena,  and  among  these  came 
his  friend,  Joachim  Lange. 

But  this  good  work  could  not  quietly  go  for- 
ward. The  words  of  Luther  were  here  indeed 
fulfilled.  "It  cannot  be  otherwise  than  that 
where  Christ  is,  there  will  also  be  Judas,  Pilate, 
Herod,  Caiaphas,  Annas,  and  also  the  Cross,  else 
it  is  not  the  true  Christ." 

Many  were  so  prejudiced  that  they  saw  in  these 
preachers  only  emotion,  fanaticism  and  pietism. 
But  the  greatest  enmity  Francke  drew  upon  him- 
self froni  the  Catholics.  He  was  in  the  habit  of 
ordering  copies  of  the  New  Testament  and  of 
Arndt's  True  Christianity  from  Liineburg  and 
other  places  for  sale  and  free  distribution.  This 
caused  the  report  that  he  procured  heretical  books 
and  circulated  them  among  the  people.  The  story 
found  ready  belief  with  Francke' s  enemies,  and 
he  was  strenuously  forbidden  by  the  city  govern- 
ment to  handle  heretical  books. 

He  continued,  however,  as  before,  to  order  and 
to  circulate  the  Bil^le  and  other  books  of  the  char- 
acter of  Arndt's  True  Christianity,  since  he  did 
not  consider  them  in  the  forl)idden  category. 
But  the  magistrates  had  given  strict  orders  at  the 
postoffice  and  the  city  gates,  that  all  suspicious 
packages  in  Francke' s  name  be  taken  at  once  to 
the  City  Council  chamber.  A  package  was  soon 
received  and  confiscated.  Francke  was  cited  to 
appear  and  answer  as  to  why  he  had  broken  the 
command  of  the  magistrates.     He  simply  replied 


106  FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK. 

that  he  had  not  done  so.  Thinking  to  convict 
him  both  of  his  fault  and  its  denial,  the  package 
was  brought  and  opened  in  his  presence.  Nothing 
was  found  in  it  but  Liineburg  New  Testaments. 

The  councilmen  were  ashamed,  and  gave 
Francke  an  honorable  dismissal.  He  assured 
a  friend  that  it  was  as  good  as  if  he  had  sent  a 
crier  through  the  town  to  announce  the  arrival  of 
this  order  of  New  Testaments. 

There  were  large  numbers  of  Catholics  in  Erfurt, 
and  the  city  was  under  the  government  of  the 
Elector  of  Mainz.  When  Francke  had  preached 
a  year  and  three  months  in  that  city,  he  suddenly 
received  notice  from  the  ruling  Elector  of  his  im- 
mediate removal  from  office,  because  of  his  being 
the  founder  of  a  new  sect.  To  this  order  was 
added  one  requiring  his  removal  from  the  city. 
This  movement  he  recognized  as  the  secret  work 
of  his  enemies,  and  he  went  at  once  to  the  City 
Council  and  denied  that  he  was  guilty  of  any 
cause  of  removal.  He  was  counseled,  however, 
to  submit  to  the  order  made,  whereupon  he 
answered:  "The  wicked  flee  when  no  man  pur- 
sueth;  but  the  righteous  are  bold  as  a  lion." 

Without  further  opportunity  for  defense, 
Francke  was  deprived  of  his  office,  and  ordered 
to  leave  the  city  within  forty-eight  hours. 

He  memorialized  the  magistrates  in  a  plea  at 
once  modest  and  courageous,  setting  forth  the 
wrong  practice  of  condemning  a  man  unheard  as 
against  all  divine,  human  or  natural  laws,  and 
begged  to  be  allowed  the  right  of  defense,  which 
was  permitted  even  the  worst  criminals.  Citi- 
zens and  even  the  children  of  the  Augustinian 
school  added  their  remonstrance  to  his  before  the 
Council,  but  without  avail.  Francke  remained 
dismissed  and  exiled  from  the  citv. 


FRANCKE    AND    HIS    WORK.  107 

But  during  the  two  days  that  he  dared  to  re- 
mam  in  Erfurt,  Francke  assembled  his  friends  in 
his  own  house,  and  pleaded  with  them  in  a  most 
touching  manner  to  stand  fast  in  the  grace  which 
the}'  had  received,  remaining  true  to  the  end. 
They  wept  bitterly,  and  were  full  of  distress  at 
what  had  taken  place;  but  Francke  left  Erfurt 
cheerfully,  filled  with  the  consolations  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

He  went  at  once  to  Gotha  to  his  mother,  com- 
posing on  the  way  a  beautiful  hymn. 

The  Duke  of  Gotha  would  gladly  have  retained 
him  within  his  own  province;  the  Duke  of  Saxe- 
Coburg  wished  to  retain  him  as  j^rofessor  in  an 
academy,  and  the  young  Duke  of  Saxe-Weimar 
called  him  as  court-preacher. 

But  another  field  of  labor  was  now  opening  be- 
fore him,  which  appeared  to  be  of  greater  import- 
ance and  wider  usefulness. 

A  new  university  was  being  established  by 
the  Brandenburg  government  in  Halle.  This 
was  the  most  important  event  in  the  history  of 
Pietisic  religion  and  Protestant  theology.  In 
1680,  a  school  for  young  nobles  (Ritteinkademie) 
had  been  founded  there.  Thomasius  had  been 
obliged  to  quit  Leipzig  and  Saxony,  because  of 
the  controversial  difficulties  growing  out  of  the 
Bible  lectures  of  Francke  and  his  friends  there. 
He  had  fled  to  Halle,  and  had  been  engaged  there 
in  lecturing  on  philosophy  and  law,  and  had 
drawn  after  him  large  numbers  of  students  from 
various  other  points.  The  Brandenburg  Elector 
already  contemplated  establishing  a  university 
within  his  own  domains,  and  while  traveling 
through  the  place,  was  struck  with  the  idea  of 
turning  this  academy  into  a  university. 

Spener  was  Superintendent  in  Berlin,  and  used 


108  FRANCKE    AND    HIS    WORK. 

this  opportunity  to  shape  the  future  of  the  the- 
ological study  in  the  province  of  Brandenburg. 
He  urged  upon  the  Elector  the  importance  of  a 
state  of  six  thousand  pastorates  having  its  own 
theological  school.  He  argued  its  influence  upon 
other  institutions,  especially  Wittenberg.  He  be- 
lieved that  it  would  prove  a  check  on  the  polemi- 
cal and  heresy-hunting  spirit  then  ruling  so  many 
of  the  ministers,  and  that  it  would,  also,  be  the 
means  of  keeping  money  in  the  kingdom  and  of 
bringing  more.  Spener's  influence  prevailed; 
and  working  in  unison  with  the  Elector,  he  de- 
termined the  character  of  the  new  institution. 

In  the  autumn  of  1691,  Breithaupt,  who  was 
now  exceedingly  sore-pressed  by  his  ministerial 
brethren  in  Erfurt,  was  called  as  Director  of  the 
Theological  Seminary,  and  Professor  of  Theology. 
Francke  was  invited  by  the  Brandenl^urg  Elector 
to  visit  his  court,  and  this  invitation  reached  him 
at  the  same  time  that  he  was  ordered  to  quit 
Erfurt.  At  Gotha  he  awaited  some  more  de- 
cided movement  on  the  part  of  the  Elector.  This 
came  in  December,  1691:  Francke  was  formally 
called  to  the  new  university  as  Professor  of  Greek 
and  Oriental  Languages,  and  to  the  then  vacant 
pastorate  of  St.  George's  Cliurch  in  the  sul)urb 
of  Glaucha.  This  pastorate  was  given  him  as 
a  royal  office  '  ^  for  his  better  subsistence, ' '  as  the 
new  university  was  not  yet  richly  endowed. 

Francke  traveled  north  to  Berlin,  and  having 
received  his  credentials,  proceeded  to  Halle  on  the 
7th  of  January,  1692.  A  few  years  later,  Paul 
Anton  was  also  called  to  Plalle  as  Professor  of 
Theology,  and  here  was  gathered  a  faculty  well 
prepared  to  combat  the  abuses  and  corruptions  of 
the  Church,  and  to  carry  forward  the  active 
Christian  work   begun   by  Spener.      Philosophy 


FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK.  109 

was  l)anished  from  the  Theological  course,  and 
practical  and  edifying  Bil)lical  Exegesis  was  made 
the  chief  study.  Polemics  were  exchanged  for 
active  Christian  work.  Simple  biljlical  lectures 
took  the  place  of  the  heretofore  abstruse  and 
artificial  commentaries. 

The  students  were  largely  of  the  3'ounger  class 
of  men,  and  were  pious  and  earnest,  of  a  strictly 
virtuous  and  conscientious  character  and  life, 
which  compared  favoral)ly  with  the  wild  spirit  of 
license  prevailing  in  other  Universities. 

Many  of  the  Universities  were  yet  without  re- 
spectable influence  on  the  life  and  thought  of  the 
people.  The  number  of  University  instructors  of 
that  time,  whose  names  are  known  to  the  learned 
world,  is,  in  comparison  with  those  of  the  six- 
teenth or  eighteenth  century,  so  small  as  to  be 
hardly  noticeable.  Men  of  large  gifts  and  great 
ability  disdained  to  seek  positions  in  the  Uni- 
versities as  professors.  There  is  no  denying  that 
drunkenness,  brawling  and  wickedness  of  all  sorts 
ruled  Avithin  their  halls,  and  it  was  only  through 
determined  interference  on  the  part  of  the  govern- 
ment that  a  semblance  of  order  was  restored  and 
maintained. 

Halle  was  the  first  to  change  this  order  of 
things  and  set  up  a  new  standard  of  religious  and 
moral  life  as  the  object  of  learning,  and  the  rule 
of  conduct  for  its  students.  This,  no  doubt,  as 
much  as  doctrinal  differences,  first  excited  the 
anger  and  contempt  of  those  who  afterward  ar- 
rayed themselves  against  this  Universit}^  and  its 
faculty. 

Friedrich  Paulsen,  Professor  of  Philosophy  and 
Pedagogy  in  the  University  of  Berlin,  in  his  recent 
work  on  German  Universities,  speaking  of  Halle 
at  this  time   savs: 


110  FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK. 

' '  Halle  received  its  impress  frona  three  men : 
the  jurist  Christian  Thomasius,  the  originator  of 
the  institution,  the  theologian  A.  H.  Francke, 
and  the  philosopher  Christian  Wolff.  Thomasius, 
a  pupil  of  Samuel  Puffendorf,  the  first  instructor 
in  natural  law  in  any  German  University,  was 
through  and  through  a  ty^^e  of  the  new  French 
Court  culture. 

vl^  ^L^  v|^  vj>  ^1*  vl^ 

' '  Despising  alike  scholastic  philosophy  and  hu- 
manistic eloquence,  theological  orthodoxy  and 
traditional  jurisprudence,  he  soon  got  into  violent 
disputes  with  his  native  University,  Leipzig, 
where  he  lectured  as  Privat  docent.  Being  forced 
to  yield,  he  retired  to  Halle,  and  the  circle  of 
students  which  he  gathered  about  him  became 
the  nucleus  of  the  University  which  was  opened 
in  1694.  Francke,  the  foremost  representative  of 
Pietism,  who  like  Thomasius,  had  been  driven 
from  Leipzig,  turned  the  theological  teaching  of 
the  University  of  Halle  in  the  direction  of  the 
devout  study  of  the  Bible  and  of  practical  Christ- 
ianity. ' ' 

To  these,  the  above  mentioned  writer  adds  the 
philosopher  Christian  Wolff,  who  finally  revolu- 
tionized the  whole  philosophical  system  of  Ger- 
many. The  object  of  philosophical  instruction 
had  been  the  teaching  and  application  of  scholastic 
doctrines,  as  a  preparation  for  the  study  of  the- 
ology. The  new  system  appealed  only  to  reason, 
and  sought  after  truth  without  prejudice. 
"  Mathematics  and  natural  science  was  its  basis, 
and  in  an  equal  degree  it  disclaimed  all  trans- 
cendental authority  for  morals  and  for  law."  In 
the  course  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Wolff's 
philosophy  took  possession  of  all  the  Protestant 
Universities,    and    theology    and    jurisprudence 


FRANCKE    AND    HIS    WORK.  Ill 

came  under  the  influence  of  his  writings,  which 
appeared  in  German  under  the  title  of  "  Reason- 
able Thoughts." 

At  Halle,  with  Thomasius,  originated  the  now 
much  praised  and  cherished  Lehrfreiheit  of  the 
Germans:  the  un trammeled  freedom  of  thought, 
teaching  and  writing,  which  has  made  Germany 
so  great  in  the  world  of  scliolarship.  This  is  now 
the  principle  upon  which  the  modern  German 
University  rests,  and  in  the  actual  carrying  on  of 
instruction  there  prevails  practically  an  absolute 
freedom.  This  with  the  philosophical  revolution 
of  Wolff,  and  the  practical  pietism  of  Francke, 
caused  consternation  in  the  learned  world.  Hate 
and  jealousy  was  speedily  excited  in  the  older 
Universities,  especially  those  of  Saxony.  Theo- 
logical parties  arose  which  had  their  sources  in 
the  Universities,  and  soon  the  entire  force  of 
teachers  and  ministers  of  the  Evangelical  Church 
allied  themselves  with  one  side  or  the  other. 
Controversies  ensued  which  continued  to  rage  for 
fifty  years,  and  whose  spirit  is  not  yet  extin- 
guished in  the  Lutheran  Church. 


CHAPTER  III. 

FRANCKE    AS    PHILANTHROPIST   AND    EDUCATOR. 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  poor  in  Halle  to  visit 
the  doors  of  benevolent  people  once  each  week  to 
receive  alms.  There  was  a  clay  appointed  in 
each  portion  of  the  town  for  this  in-gathering,  and 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Glaucha  parsonage  it  oc- 
curred on  Thursdivy-'  Francke  always  caused 
bread  to  be  distributed  among  these  people  ;  and 
it  soon  occurred  to  him  to  divide  also  among 
them  the  true  Bread  of  Life.  In  regard  to  it  he 
says:  ''As  I  saw  them  before  the  house  awaiting 
alms,  I  bade  them  all  come  in,  directing  the  elder 
ones  to  one  side  of  the  room  and  the  young  to  the 
other,  and  began  to  question  the  younger  ones,  in 
a  pleasant  way  from  Luther's  catechism  concern- 
ing the  foundations  of  their  Christianity,  while 
the  older  ones  listened.  I  did  not  occupy  more 
than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  this  way,  closing 
with  prayer.  After  this  I  distributed  among 
them  the  usual  gifts,  giving  them  at  the  same 
time  to  understand  that  in  the  future  they  should 
receive  spiritual  and  physical  food  together." 

He  discovered  through  these  weekly  catechisa- 
tions  that  the  ignorance  of  the  poor  was  so  inde- 
scribably great  that  he  did  not  know  where  to  be- 
gin to  establish  a  solid  Christian  foundation.  It 
troubled  him  especialty,  he  says,  "that  so  many 
children,  because  of  the  poverty  of  their  parents, 
could  neither  be  kept  in  school  nor  receive  in  any 
(112) 


FRAXCKE    AND    HIS   WORK.  113 

Other  way  proper  bringing  up  and  education.  He 
tried  giving  out  weekly  a  small  sum  of  school- 
money;  but  though  it  was  regularly  taken,  it  was 
not  used  for  the  purpose  intended. 

The  need  of  the  deserving  jDoor  went  to  his 
heart.  He,  therefore,  bought  a  box,  which  he 
circulated  among  Christian  students,  and  others, 
by  which  means  he  collected  about  half  a  dollar 
each  week  for  the  poor.  But  though  people  gave 
this  small  alms  cheerfully,  they  were  of  a  class 
who  had  but  little  themselves,  and  it  seemed  after 
a  time  to  become  burdensome.  The  rich  gave 
nothing  to  this  from  their  abundance,  and 
Francke  asked  nothing,  sin=-^  *bey  showed  no  evi- 
dence of  true  charity,  but  seemed  only  desirous 
of  gaining  credit  as  especially  good  Christians  be- 
cause of  thejir  ability  to  give  more  than  others. 

Francke,  therefore,  ceased  to  take  up  this  col- 
lection, but  caused  a  box  to  be  put  up  in  the  liv- 
ing room  of  the  parsonage,  and  over  it  wrote  these 
words  :  "  But  whoso  hath  this  world's  goods,  and 
seeth  his  brother  have  need  and  shutteth  up  his 
bowels  of  compassion  from  him,  how  dwelleth  the 
love  of  God  in  him?"  and  under  the  box  he 
placed  the  words  of  Paul  to  the  Corinthians  : 
"Every  man  according  as  he  purjDOseth  in  his 
heart,  so  let  him  give,  not  grudgingly,  or  of  neces- 
sit}^  :  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver." 

When  this  box  had  been  in  use  for  about  three 
months,  some  person  placed  in  it,  at  one  time,  a 
sum  amounting  to  about  one  dollar  and  eightv- 
eight  cents.  "  As  I  took  this  in  my  hand,  ""says 
Francke,  "I  said  to  myself  with  the  joy  of  faith: 
'That  is  a  fair  capital.  With  that  one  should 
really  establish  something:  I  will  begin  a  poor- 
school  with  this. '  I  sought  no  counsel  of  flesh 
and  blood,  but  went  to  work  in  faith,  and  the 
8 


114  FRANCKE   AND    HIS   WORK. 

same  day  laid  my  foundation  by  using  a  part  of 
the  money  in  the  purchase  of  books.  I  engaged 
a  poor  student  to  teach  the  children  two  hours 
each  day,  promising  him  for  his  services  six 
groschen^  each  week,  hoping  in  the  meanwhile 
that  God  would  favor  me  with  a  few  thalers  more 
in  the  following  weeks. 

"  The  beggar-children  received  the  new  books 
joyfully;  but  few  returned  them  on  the  following 
day.     They  were  either  kept  or  sold." 

But  Francke  was  not  discouraged  by  this. 
With  the  remainder  of  the  money  in  hand,  he 
again  bought  books,  wdiich  the  children  were 
obliged  to  leave  with  him  at  the  close  of  the 
school  hours. 

For  the  use  of  this  little  poor-school,  which  be- 
gan in  regular  session  at  Easter,  1695,  he  pro- 
vided a  room  adjoining  his  own  study.  In  this 
school-room  he  placed  a  second  box  with  the  in- 
scription: "For  the  enlightenment  of  poor  chil- 
dren, the  necessary  books  and  belongings.  Anno 
1695."  To  this  was  added  Prov.  xix.  17:  "He 
that  hath  pity  upon  the  poor  lendeth  to  the 
Lord;  and  that  which  he  hath  given  will  He  pay 
him  again." 

Later  Francke  visited  some  of  his  friends,  who 
rejoiced  wdth  him  over  his  little  school,  and 
donated  a  few  dollars  to  its  support;  others  placed 
small  sums  in  the  box.  Some  of  the  citizens, 
seeing  how  carefully  the  poor  children  were 
taught,  sent  their  own  and  paid  for  them  one 
groschen  apiece  the  week.  By  summer  there  w^ere 
from  fifty  to  sixty  scholars  in  the  school.  The 
poor  not  only  received  free  instruction,  but  twdce 
or  thrice  each  week  alms  were  distributed  among 

*  Fifteen  cents. 


FRAXCKE    AND    HIS    WORK.  115 

them,  which  served  not  only  for  their  bodily 
comfort,  but  attached  them  to  the  school  and  their 
lessons. 

At  Whitsuntide  of  the  same  year,  Francke  laid 
the  foundations  of  ^Yhat  was  later  the  Royal 
Pedagogium  or  school  for  the  higher  classes. 

There  was  a  greater  demand  for  private  tutors 
(Hauslehrer).  As  this  demand  was  not  to  be 
suppHed  by  any  particular  class  of  persons, 
Francke  proposed  that  parents  should  send  their 
children  to  Halle,  where  he  would  take  charge  of 
their  teaching  and  bringing  up  under  able  teachers 
and  attendants.  Many  parents  availed  themselves 
of  this  proposition,  and  thus  was  estabhshed  a 
school  which  in  the  year  1709,  had  its  inspector 
or  principal,  twenty-three  teachers  and  seventy- 
two  pupils.  Through  the  untiring  efforts  of 
Francke,  two  years  later  this  school  had  its  own 
separate  building. 

This  school  had  no  connection  with  the  school 
for  the  poor,  which  was  known  as  the  Deutsche 
Burgerschide,  where  none  of  the  classics  were 
taught,  but  only  the  elementary  branches  in  the 
German  language. 

The  Pedagogium,  or  high  school,  was  intended  by 
Francke  for  the  education  of  the  sons  of  the  nobil- 
ity. Three  young  nobles  had  been  sent  him,  and 
this  was  the  beginning  of  the  institution,^  The 
number  of  the  scholars  increased,  and  in  the 
course  of  ten  years,  the  school  had  seventy  pupils, 
and  they  were  obhged  to  live  scattered  throughout 
the  town  in  the  houses  of  the  citizens.  This  de- 
cided Francke  to  provide  a  building  for  this 
school,  which  was  done,  it  being  planned  and  built 
inside  of  three  years.  It  contained  cheerful  and 
comfortable  abodes  for  the  pupils  and  their  at- 
tendants and  teachers.     In  its  plan  it  showed  pro- 


116  FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK. 

visions  for  industrial  instruction.  In  Franckc's 
schools  no  class  of  people,  no  walk  in  life,  no 
practical  application  of  knowledge  was  forgotten. 
The  Pedagogium  was  provided  with  Chemical 
Laboratory,  Cabinet  of  Natural  Science,  Physical 
Apparatus,  preparation  for  anatomical  studies,  as 
well  as  turning  lathes  and  furnaces  for  glass 
moulding. 

There  was  also  a  special  course  preparatory  for 
the  university.  The  pupils  of  this  course  gave 
much  attention  to  Rhetoric,  Logic,  Metaphysics, 
Polemics,  the  Latin  classics  and  Dogmatics.  A 
beginning  was  made  in  Homiletics,  and  parts 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  were  read  in  the 
original. 

At  the  time  of  Francke's  death,  this  one  school 
numbered  eighty-two  pupils,  over  which  were  an 
inspector  with  twenty-eight  teachers  and  ten  as- 
sistants. 

For  all  these  schools  Francke  prescribed  the 
methods  of  teaching  and  management  himself. 
He  wrote  out  carefully  a  programme  for  every 
teacher,  and  required  it  to  be  strictly  followed. 

In  the  Burgei  schide,  there  was  taught  at  first, 
reading,  writing  and  simple  arithmetic,  with  reg- 
ular Bible  lessons;  but  later.  Natural  History, 
Geography  and  History  were  added  to  the  course. 

The  girls  were  instructed  in  all  the  feminine 
industries,  and  even  many  of  the  poor  boys  were 
taught  to  knit. 

The  Latin  school,  which  came  to  be  an  estab- 
lishment next  in  order  to  the  Bilrgerschide,  was  for 
boys  only,  and  for  those  of  the  more  gifted  sort, 
who  were  capable  of  a  higher  education.  It  grew 
out  of  the  children  of  citizens  being  sent  to  the 
little  poor-school,  and  was  of  a  higher  grade. 
Added  to  the  common  branches  there  was  taught 


FRA^'CKE    AND    HIS    WORK.  Il7 

Greek,  Latin,  Hebrew,  Mathematics,  History, 
Geography,  Botany  and  Music.  Later,  the  Latin 
was  taught  in  seven  classes,  and  Physics,  Paint- 
ing and  Anatomy  were  added;  still  later,  Oratory 
and  Logic  became  a  part  of  the  curriculum. 

The  teachers  were  carefully  selected  from  the 
great  mass  of  students  who  sought  the  University 
of  Halle,  and  Francke  had  the  advantage  of  being 
able  to  select  men  who  were  able  and  willing  to 
conduct  the  work  according  to  his  own  ideas  and 
desires. 

That  all  these  schools  were  so  entirely  under 
the  control  of  one  man  might  have  operated  as  a 
decided  injury  to  the  educational  S3^stem,  and 
doubtless  did  produce  some  unfortunate  results. 
But  this  continual  oversight  and  strict  control 
were  made  necessary  by  the  constant  changing  of 
teachers  and  their  consequent  inexperience.  The 
teachers,  being  taken  from  the  University,  were 
only  pledged  to  teach  for  two  years,  and  in  that 
time,  they  could  not  be  expected  to  gain  the  nec- 
essary insight  or  experience  required  for  indepen- 
dent work. 

But  the  discipline  was  excellent  and  salutary, 
and  the  work  must  have  been  finally  thorough, 
since  no  advance  in  classes  or  in  any  special 
branch  was  permitted  unless  the  lower  grade  was 
completely  and  satisfactorily  finished  by  the  in- 
dividual. 

The  special  features  of  these  schools  was  the 
Pietisic  element  that  showed  itself  throughout  the 
course  in  the  prominence  given  to  certain  studies, 
and  the  hours  allowed  for  devotion.  The  Greek 
classics  were  subordinated  to  the  study  of  the  New 
Testament  and  the  Hebrew  ;  for  Francke  held 
always  before  his  pupils  the  necessity  of  knowing 
the  Scriptures.     This  he  believed  could  only  be 


118  FRANCKE    AND    HIS    WORK. 

attained  by  study  of  the  originals,  or,  at  least,  l)y 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  language  and  the 
time  in  which  they  were  written.  To  this  end 
Francke  finally  established  a  school  of  Oriental 
languages,  with  the  Bible  as  an  especial  study. 
The  practical  and  industrial  features  were  also 
prominent;  for  hand  in  hand  with  the  educational 
was  the  philanthropic  idea:  the  upHfting,  assist- 
ing and  comforting  of  the  people  through  useful 
and  applied  knowledge,  and  behind  and  above  all, 
religion,  practical  religion,  was  at  once  tlie  motive 
and  the  object. 

This,  however,  is  more  clearly  seen  in  those  in- 
stitutions which  were  more  directly  philanthropic; 
the  Poor-School,  the  Orphan  House  and  its  de- 
pendencies. 

Francke  saw  to  his  sorrow  liow  many  hopeful 
children  in  his  Poor-School  were  lost  at  length  by 
reason  of  improper  surroundings  and  lack  of  care 
in  the  home.  In  the  autumn  of  1^5,  he  deter- 
mined to  take  some  of  the  childreirehtirely  under 
his  own  care,  "and  this,"  said  he,  "was  the  first 
move  toward  the  establishment  of  an  Orphan 
House,  without  having  the  smallest  capital  as  a 
beginning. 

' '  When  I  mentioned  this  project  to  some  friends, 
a  good  Christian  conscience  was  soon  moved  to  in- 
vest the  sum  of  five  hundred  thalers,^  of  which  I 
was  to  receive  the  interest  each  year  at  Christmas. ' ' 
This  interest  brought  Francke  twent3^-five  thalers 
annually,  and  was  the  first  endowment  of  the 
Orphanage.  He  at  once  sought  out  a  poor  orphan 
that  could  be  taken  under  his  own  care,  and  for 
whose  comfort  and  education  this  money  could 
be   used.       But   four   fatherless   and   motherless 

"^  A  thaler  is  about  sixty -nine  cents  in  U.  S.  money. 


FRANCKE    AND    HIS    WORK.  119 

brothers  and  sisters  were  brought  to  him  that  one 
might  be  chosen,  "whereupon,"  he  saj's,  "I 
ventured  upon  the  Lord  to  take  them  all."  A 
good  Christian  family  immediately  relieved  him 
of  the  care  of  one  of  these,  but  another  at  once 
appeared  in  its  place.  For  these  four  children  he 
found  homes  with  excellent  people,  paying  weekly 
a  moderate  sum  for  their  maintenance.  Francke 
said  that  when  one  had  ventured  to  give  a  grosrhen 
to  the  poor,  one  no  more  hesitates  to  give  a  thaler, 
and  that  when  without  certain  capital  or  human 
promises  of  assistance,  he  had  taken  a  few  of 
these  poor  orphans,  that  he  trusted  in  the  Lord 
and  took  yet  more  under  his  care,  and  he  declares 
that  his  Orphan  House  was  not  founded  upon 
present  capital  or  the  promises  of  wealthy  people, 
"but  upon  the  living  God  in  Heaven,  only." 

On  the  day  following  the  reception  by  Francke 
of  the  five  children  alread}^  mentioned,  two  others 
came;  the  next  day  another  and  in  two  days  after 
yet  another,  and  on  the  16th  of  November  of  that 
year  he  had  nine  orphans  provided  for  in  Chris- 
tian homes. 

In  the  oversight  and  education  of  these  chil- 
dren he  now  called  to  his  aid  a  student  of  The- 
ology, George  Henry  Neubauer.  This  young 
man  had  already  commended  himself  to  Francke 
by  his  assistance  in  the  disorderly  Glaucha  pas- 
torate, and  by  his  influence  over  the  children  of 
the  congregation. 

"In  the  meantime,"  says  Francke,  "came  the 
faithful  God  and  Father  of  the  Orphan,  who  can 
do  so  much  more  than  I  know  to  ask,  so  power- 
fully to  my  aid,  that  I  received  much  more  than 
my  foolish  reason  could  have  hoped." 

The  same  person  who  had  donated  the  five 
hundred  thalers  added  a  thousand  to  it  at  the 


120         FRANCKE  AND  HIS  WORK. 

beginning  of  winter;  by  mid-winter  another  sent 
him  three  hundred,  yet  another  one  hundred, 
while  the  work  now  so  well  begun  was  encouraged 
by  a  stream  of  small  sums. 

The  Poor-School  had  now  overflowed  all  the 
spare  room  in  the  parsonage  and  additional 
rooms  had  been  rented  in  the  house  of  a  neigh- 
bor. This  house  was  for  sale,  and  Francke 
bought  it  for  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  dollars. 
On  the  back  part  of  this  building  he  added  two 
rooms,  and  to  this  house  Francke  brought  the 
Poor-School  and  the  orphans  whom  he  had  taken 
in  charge.  These  were  now  twelve  in  number; 
but  seven  weeks  after  the  occupancy  of  the  new 
house,  there  were  eighteen  under  its  roof.  Neu- 
bauer  was  placed  in  charge,  and  two  free  tables 
were  provided  for  poor  students,  each  accommo- 
dating twelve  persons.  From  these  students  the 
teachers  for  the  Poor-School  were  chosen,  and 
this  was  the  origin  of  what  was  afterward  a  great 
Teachers'  Seminary. 

It  was  not  long  until  the  number  of  orphans 
and  the  growth  of  the  school  required  additional 
room,  and  Francke  bought  the  next  adjoining 
house  and  united  it  with  the  first,  dividing  the 
children  into  two  classes,  and  later,  as  the  num- 
bers increased,  into  four.  All  these  children  were 
furnished  with  the  necessary  books  and  received 
their  instruction  absolutely  free.  Each  class  had 
its  own  rooms  and  teachers,  the  bo3^s  and  girls 
being  instructed  separately. 

In  his  care  for  the  young  Francke  did  not  for- 
get the  older  poor.  They  received  all  this  time 
most  helpful  aid,  and  many  more  than  formerly 
partook  of  his  bounty. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Francke  separated  the 
Poor-School  from  the  Latin  School.     This  separa- 


FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK.  121 

tion  did  not  debar  the  poor  from  entering  the 
Latin  School;  for  though  the  division  was  made 
by  the  wish  of  the  citizens  who  were  patrons,  the 
attendance  on  the  higher  school  seems  to  have 
been  finally  determined  by  the  natural  aptitude 
of  the  poorer  pupils,  or  the  object  with  which 
they  studied;  for  in  the  year  1709,  among  two 
hundred  and  fifty-six  pupils  in  this  school,  we 
find  that  sixty-four  of  them  were  from  the  Orphan- 
House. 

The  two  houses  were  soon  quite  too  small  to 
accommodate  the  continually  increasing  number 
of  their  inmates,  and  Francke  began  to  think  of 
providing  a  larger  building. 

In  June,  1697,  he  sent  Neubauer  to  Holland  to 
study  the  celebrated  orphanages  there  and  con- 
sider their  management.  In  the  meantime,  a 
small  hotel  or  inn  being  for  sale  in  Halle,  Francke 
bought  it,  hoping  to  use  it  as  an  orphanage.  But 
he  was  soon  aware  that  the  place  was  neither 
suitabh^  arranged  nor  large  enough  for  the  pur- 
pose. There  were  now  one  hundred  orphans  to 
be  cared  for,  and  the  students  at  the  free-tables 
numbered  seventy-two. 

He,  therefore,  bought  an  open  space  in  front 
of  the  inn  which  he  had  purchased,  called  Neu- 
bauer back  from  Holland,  and  on  the  24th  of 
July,  1698,  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  present 
chief  building  of  the  Halle  Orphan-House. 

His  experiences  in  carrying  forward  this  under- 
taking, and  an  account  of  the  manner  by  which 
from  time  to  time  the  necessary  funds  reached 
his  hand  for  its  support,  are  given  in  detail  in  a 
little  publication  which  appeared  in  1701.  Its 
title  indicates  its  character  and  contents:  ''Blessed 
footsteps  of  the  living  and  ministering,  loving 
and  faithful  God,  to  the  shame  of  doubt  and  the 


122  FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK. 

strengthening  of  faith,  discovered  through  a  true 
and  careful  report  of  the  Orphan-House  and  otlier 
institutions  at  Glaucha  near  Halle."  This  work 
is  still  counted  as  a  religious  classic  in  German^y, 
and  in  it  Francke  relates  in  a  simple  and  touch- 
ing manner,  how  during  the  time  when  he  under- 
took this  first  building,  and  in  the  following 
years,  when  the  work  broadened  more  and  more, 
and  the  cost  became  continually  greater,  the 
Heavenly  Father  observed  every  time  of  need 
and  sent  the  required  provision. 

"From  week  to  week  and  from  month  to 
month,"  he  writes,  "has  the  Lord  meted  out  to 
me  according  as  the  need  required.  Also,  we 
enjoyed  God's  protection;  in  all  the  building  that 
was  done  no  one  was  fatally  injured,  and  the  few 
who  suffered  an}^  accident  were  speedily  healed. 
The  faithless  were  also  put  to  shame;  for  when 
the  wall  was  half  done  one  frivolous  person  re- 
marked that  when  that  wall  was  completed  he 
would  let  himself  be  hanged  on  it,  but  the  build- 
ing suffered  no  interruption." 

Before  Easter  of  the  year  1696,  it  came  about 
that  almost  every  resource  was  exhausted,  and  we 
knew  not  how  to  provide  for  the  following  week. 
At  that  time  I  was  not  accustomed  to  such  severe 
tests  of  faith;  but  at  the  right  time  God  came  to 
our  aid  with  unhoped-for  help.  He  moved  some 
person  (who  it  was,  whether  man  or  woman,  and 
from  what  place,  is  only  known  to  the  Lord),  to 
pay  to  me  by  the  third  and  fourth  hand  a  thous- 
and thalers  for  the  continuation  of  my  work,  and 
I  received  it  at  a  time  when  there  was  nothing 
more  in  store. 

' '  At  another  time,  I  had  almost  nothing,  when 
the  steward  represented  that  unless  the  household 
be  left  to  suffer,  cattle  must  be  bought,  and  twenty 


FRANCKE    AND    HIS    "WORK.  123 

to  thirty  bushels  of  grain  be  ground  for  food,  to 
say  nothing  of  wood,  wool  and  other  things  that 
were   needed.     Had    I    brought   this    before    the 
Lord   in    public    pra3'er,    doubtless   there   would 
have  been  those  present  wdio  would  have  hastened 
to  my  aid  with  the  necessary   funds.     But  one 
would  rather  give  God  the  honor,  who  turns  no 
man  from  His  door  empty,  since  He  is  mighty 
enough  to  help  in  this  way,  and  w^hen  trusted  is 
able  so  clearly  to  show^  His  providence  that  one 
can   thank   Him   with  greater  gladness.     There- 
upon I  gave  myself  anew  in  prayer  to  God,  with 
joy  in  the  certainty  of  His  hearing  me,  who  heard 
the  cry  of  the  young  ravens.     Scarcely  had  I  fin- 
ished my  prayer,  and  seated  myself  again  at  my 
table,  when  there  was  a  rap  at  the  door  of  my 
room,   and  I  opened  it  to  admit  a  well-known 
friend.     He  brought  a  letter  and  a  roll  of  money 
which  had  been  sent  him  for  me  from  another 
place.     The  roll  contained  fifty  thalers,  and  there 
w^ere  twenty  more  to  come  from  the  same  source. 
For  that  time  plenty  took  the  place  of  need,  and 
I  knew  that  God  had  heard,  even  before  I  called. 
''In  October  of  the  year  1698,  I  sent  a  pious 
and  cross-bearing  Christian  a  ducat.     She  wrote 
me  that  it  came  at  a  time  when  she  was  in  great 
need,  and  that  she  had  at  once  prayed  that  my 
poor  orphans  might  be   cheered   by  a   heap   of 
ducats.     Very  soon  thereafter  a  benevolent  Chris- 
tian brought  me  a  ducat  and  twelve  double  ducats. 
On  the  same  day  a  good  friend  in  Sweden  sent 
me  two  more  ducats.     Not  long  after  I  received 
by   post  tw^enty-five   ducats   from    an   unknown 
person.     Another  patron  sent  me  twenty  ducats, 
and  at  the  same  time  Prince  Louis  of  Wiirtem- 
berg  died  at  Eisenach,  and  I  was  informed  that 
he  had  left  a  sum  of  money  to  the  Orphan-House. 


124  FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK. 

It  was  over  five  hundred  ducats  in  sjDecie.  He 
had  it  put  by  in  a  red  satin  bag  with  a  note  be- 
side it:  '  This  is  for  the  Orphan-House  in  Halle.' 
As  this  lieap  of  ducats  lay  before  me  on  the 
table,  I  thought  on  the  prayer  of  the  poor  woman, 
and  that  she  had  asked  God  to  cheer  my  poor 
orphans  with  a  heap  of  ducats. 

"In  February,  1699,  we  came  to  such  great 
need,  that  I  knew  it  for  an  hour  of  testing  and 
trial.  I  had  no  means  left,  and  our  daily  re- 
quirements for  the  great  household  of  poor  were 
considerable.  I  continued  in  good  courage, 
thinking  on  the  words  of  Christ:  'Seek  ye  first 
the  kingdom  of  God,'  etc.  I  let  care  for  the 
things  of  time  fly  away,  and  strove  to  unite  my- 
self more  closely  to  God  in  faith.  As  I  paid  out 
the  last  of  my  money  I  said  in  my  heart:  '  Lord, 
look  upon  my  need!'  I  went  out  of  my  room  on 
my  way  to  lecture  at  the  university  as  usual; 
but  found  a  student  waiting  for  me,  who  came 
with  a  small  package  of  money  which  had  been 
sent  by  a  friend  forty  miles  distant  for  the  use  of 
the  Orphan-House.  The  package  contained  sev- 
enty thalers,  and  though  it  sufficed  to  meet  our 
then  heavy  expenses  for  only  a  few  days,  yet 
God  soon  encouraged  us  with  as  much  more,  each 
time  there  was  present  need,  and  so  provided 
from  time  to  time  that  I  ceased  to  be  disturbed 
by  such  trials,  and  no  outward  need  was  to  be 
traced  in  the  affairs  of  the  institution. 

"At  one  time  there  was  dire  necessity  in  every 
corner.  The  steward  brought  his  bills  and.  re- 
quired, also,  money  for  the  weekly  expenses. 
I  could  only  liold  my  heart  to  faith  in  God 
for  there  was  no  provision  at  hand,  and  these 
expenses  were  necessary.  I  knew  of  no  means 
by  which  they  could  be  supplied.     I  determinea 


FRAXCKE    AND    HIS    WORK.  125 

that  as  soon  as  I  had  finished  the  work  which 
I  was  then  dictating  to  shut  myself  in  my  room 
and  call  upon  God  for  a  new  blessing.  But 
before  the  work  was  finished,  I  was  informed 
by  a  letter  from  a  rich  merchant,  that  he  had 
been  ordered  to  pay  me  a  thousand  thaler  for  the 
use  of  the  Orphan-House.  I  went  to  my  room, 
and  instead  of  offering  my  proposed  prayer, 
called  upon  God  with  thanksgiving  and  praise. 
As  the  payment  of  this  money  was  not  immedi- 
ately made,  in  the  meantime  God  helped  us  in 
other  ways,  that  we  suffered  no  deprivation. 

"At  another  time  I  was  in  the  utmost  need  of 
funds,  but,  as  I  walked  out,  I  observed  the  beau- 
tiful weather,  the  clear  heavens,  and  my  heart 
was  greatly  strengthened  in  faith.  I  thought  to 
myself:  '  How  great  it  is  when  one  has  nothing 
and  can  trust  in  nothing,  but  knows  the  living 
God,  who  ha6  made  heaven  and  earth,  and  places 
his  trust  on  Him  alone.  Thus  one  can  be  so  calm 
even  in  failure  and  want.'  I  knew,  however, 
that  I  had  unsupplied  needs  to  be  met  the  same 
day;  yet  my  heart  was  so  strong  in  faith  that  I 
was  comforted  and  gladdened. 

"  As  I  went  back  to  the  house,  I  found  the  man 
awaiting  me  who  was  to  pay  the  workmen  on  the 
building  for  the  Orphan-house  now  in  process  of 
erection.  He  had  come  for  money  for  this  pur- 
pose, as  it  was  Saturday  and  pay-day.  He  asked 
me  if  any  had  come  in.  '  Xo, '  I  replied,  '  but  I 
have  faith  in  God. ' 

"I  had  hardly  spoken  the  words  when  a  stu- 
dent was  announced,  who  brought  me  thirty  dol- 
lars from  a  person  whose  name  he  Wc  .  to  withhold. 
I  turned  again  to  the  building-master,  and  asked 
how  much  was  required  to  pay  the  workmen. 
He  replied:  '  Thirty  thaler.'      '  Here  it  is,'  I  said, 


126         FRANCKE  AND  HIS  WORK. 

and  inquired  if  he  needed  more.  He  said:  '  No.' 
We  were  both  strengthened  in  faith,  for  we  recog- 
nized the  wonderful  providence  of  God,  who  gave 
at  the  moment  and  according  to  need. 

"Again  there  was  with  us  a  general  failure  of 
funds,  so  that  in  my  prayers  I  laid  special  em- 
phasis upon  the  fourth  petition:  'Give  us  this 
day  our  daily  bread,'  and  rested  in  faith  espec- 
ially on  the  words,  '  this  day,'  since  it  was  for  the 
same  day  needful.  As  I  was  yet  in  prayer,  a 
well-known  and  loved  friend  drove  up  to  the  door 
bringing  me  four  hundred  thaler.  I  now  remarked 
how  strongly  I  jDrayed  for  that  day,  and  praised 
the  Lord  anew  who  held  all  things  in  His  hand. 

' '  At  one  time,  a  boy  who  had  been  brought  up 
in  the  Orphan-house  had  opportunity  to  return  to 
relatives  at  his  former  home,  but  required  two 
thaler  to  pay  the  expenses  of  his  journey.  I 
would  gladly  have  given  him  this  small  sum,  but 
I  had  but  little  more  than  half  a  thaler  in  store. 
I  told  the  boy  how  gladly  I  would  give  it,  but 
that  I  had  not  such  a  sum  by  me.  This  was 
difficult  for  him  to  believe,  since  during  all  his 
stay  in  the  house  he  had  seen  no  trace  of  the  fre- 
quent need,  at  the  table  or  elsewhere.  But  I 
assured  him  of  this,  and  of  my  willingness  to  pro- 
vide for  this  need  if  I  but  had  the  means,  and 
bade  him  go  and  take  leave  of  a  good  friend,  and 
I  would  see  if  by  any  means  I  could  provide  it  in 
the  meantime.  After  he  had  gone  I  considered  if 
there  was  not  some  one  of  whom  I  could  borrow 
the  sum;  but  I  had  work  in  hand  that  admitted 
of  no  delay,  and  I  thought  within  myself :  'God 
can  easily  bring  me  that  much  here,  when  it  is 
His  will,'  and  remained  at  my  work.  A  quarter 
of  an  hour  passed,  when  a  well-known  friend  ap- 
peared,  bringing  me  twenty  thaler  for  the  poor 


FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK.  127 

orphans.  He  said  that  the  twenty  thaler  had  been 
added  to  his  pension,  and  that  it  had  been  lying 
for  some  time  unused,  since  his  pension  was  suffi- 
cient without  this,  and  that  he  had  decided  to 
give  it  to  the  orphans,  who  could,  doubtless,  use 
it.  The  boy  received  the  two  thaler^  and  the  bal- 
ance very  opportunely  supplied  other  needs. ' ' 

Francke  relates  one  instance  after  another  like 
the  above.  Again  and  again  did  he  wait  upon 
the  Lord  in  faith,  and  again  and  again  received 
bountifully.  Sometimes  the  gifts  were  in  money, 
and  sometimes  in  grain,  wood,  leather,  linen, 
building-stone  and  timber.  The  greatest  sum 
which  he  ever  received  at  once  was  five  thousand 
thaler.  But  the  fame  of  his  work  spread  through- 
out the  kingdom,  and  even  beyond,  so  that  people 
of  all  classes,  rich  and  poor,  high  and  low,  wise 
and  ignorant,  from  the  King  of  Prussia  to  poor 
servant  maids,  widows  and  orphans,  joined  in  its 
support  and  encouragement. 

It  would  have  been  hardly  possible,  however, 
for  Francke  to  have  accomplished  so  great  a  work 
had  he  not  been  provided  with  true  and  faithful 
assistants. 

Of  these  he  says  in  his  "Blessed  Footsteps," 
page  69  :  "I  count  it  one  of  the  most  important 
of  all  requirements  that  God  gave  me  from  the 
beginning  such  helpers  as  confessed  sincere  love 
to  God  and  their  neighbor  ;  who  did  not  lay  hand 
to  the  work  for  selfish  interest  nor  for  sake  of  the 
promised  wage  ;  neither  did  they  leave  any  trace 
of  the  mere  hireling  in  the  management  of  their 
business.  But,  on  the  contrary,  they  looked  upon 
the  work  as  God's  work,  and  not  as  the  work  of 
men,  and  in  it  served  the  Lord  with  true  self- 
denial  and  sacrifice  of  themselves  to  the  service  of 
their  neighbor. ' ' 


128  FRANCKE   AND   HIS   WORK. 

In  another  place,  he  praises  God  for  keeping 
the  spirits  of  his  helpers  in  faith  and  patience 
amidst  the  frequently  recurring  need  and  the 
countless  difficulties  which  they  shared  with  him. 
He  thanks  Him  that  when  the  need  was  greatest, 
and  even  as  some  of  these  good  helpers  spoke 
among  themselves  that  they,  this  time,  should 
fail  to  find  the  former  blessing.  He  broke  upon 
them  with  His  gracious  help  and  quickened  them, 
even  as  a  thirsty  land  is  quickened  by  a  boun- 
tiful rain. 

Much  wisdom  and  power  and  many  hands 
were  necessary  to  the  upbuilding  and  management 
of  so  great  a  work.  It  was  all  begun  with  the 
seven  Gulden  that  Francke  had  declared  was  a 
good  capital  with  which  to  establish  something. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  the  buildings  for  the 
Orphan  House  and  its  supplements  were  like  a 
long  street.  Besides  the  chief  Orphan  House 
there  was  the  farm,  the  Book-Store,  the  Printing- 
House,  the  Drug  Store,  Laboratory,  Hospital, 
Lil)rary,  the  Art  Museum,  and  the  Schools. 

The  Printing-House  and  Book-Store  were  due 
to  Francke' s  excellent  and  sincere  friend,  Henry 
Julius  Elers.  He  was  born  not  far  from  Liine- 
burg,  on  the  28th  of  June,  1671,  and  died  in  Sep- 
tember, 1728.  He  and  Francke  had  been  much 
attached  to  each  other  in  Leipzig,  and  Elers  fol- 
lowed his  friend  to  Halle,  as  a  student  of  theology, 
and  through  his  efforts  the  Book-Store  liad  its 
beginning  in  a  little  chamber  in  the  Glaucha  par- 
sonage. Francke' s  sermon  on  "  Duty  toward  the 
Poor"  had  been  printed,  and  Elers  appeared  at 
the  Leipziger  Messe  among  the  book-sellers'  stalls, 
himself  taking  his  station  at  this  great  commercial 
fair  to  sell  this  one  little  pamphlet.  At  first  his 
small  venture  and   his  evident  novitiate  in  the 


FRANCKE   AND   HIS   WORK.  129 

trade  excited  only  contempt,  especially  as  he  was 
a  student  of  theology.  But  the  sermon  attracted 
attention,  and  when  it  became  known  that  Elers 
represented  the  great  Orphan  House  which  was 
founded  on  a  capital  of  seven  Gulden,  and  that 
his  sales  were  for  its  benefit,  his  stock  was  soon 
exhausted,  and  more  of  the  sermons  were  in 
demand. 

With  the  careful  economy  always  practiced  at 
the  Orphanage,  Elers  now  made  cases,  procured 
some  half- worn  types,  and  himself  set  up  and  re- 
printed the  sermon.  This,  too,  proved  profitable, 
and  he  undertook  more  and  greater  publications, 
and  with  a  fine  unselfish  zeal  carried  the  work  on 
to  its  finally  assured  success. 

The  Drug  Store  (Apotheke)  owed  much  to  the 
man  who  was  then  the  phj^sician  of  the  Orphan 
House.  This  was  Christian  Frederick  Richter, 
who  was  at  the  same  time  a  poet,  and  the  writer 
of  some  of  the  most  beautiful  and  spiritual  Ger- 
man hymns.  His  hymns  are  especially  valuable 
for  their  deeply  devotional  sentiment  and  exqui- 
site musical  movement.  One  of  them:  "  £5 
gldnzet  der  Christen  inicendiges  Leben,^^  was  the 
favorite  hymn  of  Schleiermacher.  But  Richter 
was  also  zealous  in  his  profession. 

In  December,  1700,  Francke  visited  a  dying 
man  who  desired  to  leave  him  various  chemical 
manuscripts.  He  assured  Francke  that  there  was 
one  formula  for  a  preparation  of  gold  which  was 
a  most  rare  and  valuable  remed}^  This  Francke 
entrusted  to  Dr.  Richter,  who  was  not  at  first  suc- 
cessful in  its  preparation.  But  after  many  at- 
tempts and  some  expenditure  of  the  precious 
metal,  he  was  rewarded  by  procuring  the  desired 
result.  The  medicine  proved  to  be  all  that  had 
been  claimed  for  it,  and  though  Francke  insisted 
9 


130  FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK. 

on  having  it  placed  on  the  market  at  a  price  even 
within  reoch  of  the  poor,  its  immense  sales 
brought  very  large  sums  to  the  Orphan-House, 
and  helped  to  establish  the  Drug-house  and  its  re- 
putation. 

Finally  the  Drug-house  grew  to  a  hospital  and 
dispensary,  the  little  chamber  with  its  single  case 
and  awkward  hand-press  broadened  to  the  great 
printing-house  and  book-store,  and  became,  at 
last,  the  headquarters  for  the  distribution  and  sale 
of  large  quantities  of  missionary  and  other  relig- 
ious literature,  and  to  this  was  added  the  first 
great  Bible  House,  of  which  we  shall  speak  later. 

These  institutions  formed  a  little  city  within 
itself,  and  sheltered  a  small  colony  of  the  poor 
and  helpless.  It  also  gave  employment  to  many 
more,  and  kept  in  time  an  open  table  to  hundreds 
of  poor  and  struggling  students. 

But  Francke  gave  to  God  all  the  honor.  He 
ascribed  nothing  to  his  own  foresight,  activity  and 
learning  ;  but  called  himself  an  unworthy  instru- 
ment in  God's  hand,  who  had  only  looked  upon 
what  God  had  done. 

The  humanistic  idea  had  no  place  in  his  work, 
and  so  clearly  did  he  discern  God's  will  for  men 
in  all  that  he  established  and  accomplished,  that 
he  had  an  almost  superstitious  dread  of  his  own 
fame,  saying  that  God  could  easily  bring  his  work 
to  naught  and  himself  to  shame.  Only  in  the 
name  of  Christ  would  he  labor.  In  all  his  teach- 
ings his  greatest  desire  was  to  bring  all,  from  the 
youngest  child  to  the  greatest  scholar,  into  closer 
relation  to  Jesus  Christ. 

But  notAvithstanding  his  humility  and  sincere 
faith,  there  were  not  wanting  those  who  heaped 
upon  him  abuse  and  slanders  ;  and  not  only  upon 
him  alone,  but  also  upon  his  assistants.     Francke 


FRANCKE   AND    HIS   WORK.  131 

was  accused  of  pride  and  hypocrisy,  even  of 
greed,  publicly  and  privately,  by  his  own  brother 
ministers  in  Halle,  by  a  few  professors,  and  by 
others  in  the  ministerial  office.  Freylinghausen's 
beautiful  collection  of  hymns,  and  his  "Ground- 
work of  Theology,"  were  characterized  as  injur- 
ious books.  The  terms  "Pietist"  and  "fanatic" 
were  hurled  at  them  with  all  the  bitter  import 
that  they  then  held,  and  no  small  amount  of  time 
and  pains  had  to  be  exj^ended  by  these  already 
overtasked  men  in  the  painful  labor  of  self-defence. 

But  God's  work  went  on  and  stands  to-day  as  a 
beneficent  monument  to  man's  faith  and  God's 
grace,  while  those  who  stood  by  with  slanders  and 
reproaches  on  pen  and  tongue  are  scarcely  known, 
save  as  the  "men  who  abused  Francke." 

In  the  year  1727,  the  time  of  Francke' s  death, 
the  following  report  of  these  institutions  was  made 
to  King  Frederick  I.  of  Prussia: 

I.  The  Pedagogium. 

82  scholars. 

70  teachers  and  assistants. 

II.  The  Latix  School  of  the  Orphan-House. 

3  inspectors  (head  masters  or  principals). 
32  teachers. 

400  scholars. 
10  servants. 

III.  The  German  Burgerschule,  or  Common  School. 

4  inspectors. 

98  teachers  (male). 
8  teachers  (female). 
1725  boys  and  girls. 

IV.  Orphans. 

100  bovs. 
34  girls. 
10  attendants. 

V.  Boarders  at  the  Tables. 

225  students. 
360  poor  scholars. 


132  FRANCKE   AND   HIS   WORK. 

VI.  Household,  Drug  Store  and  Book  Stoke. 

53  persons. 

VII.  Institution  for  Women. 

15  young  women. 
8  in  the  house  for  young  servants. 
6  widows. 

This  sketch  of  the  Francke  institutions  gives 
but  a  partial  idea  of  the  large  sphere  of  the  man's 
real  labors,  especially  of  his  constant  activity  in 
and  for  the  University.  Of  his  Bible  distribution 
and  mission  work  for  foreign  lands  we  have  yet  to 
speak,  since  they  are  of  such  importance  that  thqy 
require  extended  notice.  But,  however  wide  and 
diverse  were  all  these  branches  of  work,  they  were 
nourished  by  a  common  root,  a  loving  heart  in 
the  service  of  God  and  man. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

fraxcke's  work   in    bible   distribution   and 
missions. 

Since  Francke  was  so  filled  with  the  joy  of 
faith,  and  was  so  confident  of  its  value  as  the  one 
"pearl  of  great  price"  to  be  sought,  it  is  not 
strange  that  he  was  zealous  in  his  efforts  to  divide 
his  treasure  with  others.  In  this  he  had  an  able 
assistant,  who,  hke-minded  and  filled  with  fervent 
love  of  the  Word  of  God,  determined  to  place  the 
Scriptures  within  reach  of  the  poorest  person. 
This  was  Carl  Hildebrand,  Baron  of  Canstem, 
who  was  born  in  1667,  and  who  became  Chief 
Marshal  and  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  the 
Elector  of  Brandenburg.  He  was  also  a  trusted 
friend  of  Spener'  s.  In  the  year  1710  he  pubhshed 
a  pamphlet  under  the  title:  "  A  humble  proposal 
for  giving  God's  Word  into  the  hand  of  the  poor 
at  the  lowest  price." 

In  this  pamphlet  he  proposed  to  have  one  hun- 
dred thousand  copies  of  the  Bible  printed  through 
the  preparation  of  permanent  plates  or  forms. 
As  this  found  favor  with  otliers,  he  gave  the  order 
to  Francke' s  Orphanage  for  execution.  Prince 
Charles  of  Denmark,  brother  of  King  Frederick 
the  IV. ,  presented  Francke,  for  this  work,  tw^elve 
hundred  and  seventv-one  ducats. 

The  first  edition  "of  the  New  Testament  from 

these  forms  appeared  in  the  year  171--.      Fp  to 

1795  there  appeared  in  this  institution  1,659,^^^ 

(133) 


134         FRANCKE  AND  HIS  WORK. 

Bibles,  883,890  New  Testaments,  16,000  copies  of 
the  Psalms,  and  47,500  of  the  Sirach.  All  these 
copies  held  faithfully  to  the  text  of  Luther,  except 
for  a  few  changes  which  were  agreed  upon  as 
necessary,  and  these  were  made  with  righteous 
timidity  and  care,  so  as  to  cause  neither  remark 
nor  offense. 

It  can  be  easily  imagined  with  what  zeal 
Francke  and  his  friends  undertook  the  manage- 
ment of  this  great  work,  and  how  mightily  it 
prospered  at  his  hands.  At  the  death  of  Baron 
Canstein,  in  1719,  his  will  gave  the  entire  work  to 
Francke  for  the  benefit  of  the  Orphanage  and  to 
become  a  part  thereof.  Despite  the  multitude  of 
his  callings  and  the  great  burden  of  other  business, 
Francke  received  the  charge  gladly,  and  adminis- 
tered it  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  But  it  was 
only  a  short  time  before  his  death  that  he  was 
able  to  give  to  this  branch  of  his  work  the  massive 
and  roomy  building  in  connection  with  the  Or- 
phan House  which  it  still  occupies,  and  to  bring 
it  to  the  complete  state  of  order  and  permanence 
which  he  desired  for  it.  The  Bible  House  now 
occupies  one-half,  or  a  corner  of  the  building 
which  is  the  front  of  a  court  eight  hundred  feet 
long,  entirely  enclosed  by  the  chief  buildings  of 
the  Orphan  House.  The  building  of  the  Royal 
Pedagogium  closes  this  court  at  the  other  end. 
From  this  Bi])le  House  millions  of  copies  of  the 
Scriptures  have  gone  into  circulation,  and  all  over 
the  Christian  world  like  institutions  have  sprung 
up;  Bible  societies  have  been  formed,  and  free 
distribution  has  followed,  until  the  poor  have  the 
gospel  without  money  and  without  price. 

A  man  of  Francke' s  benevolent  nature  could 
not  look  upon  the  darkness  of  the  heathen  world 
without  feeling  the  force  of  the  Master's  words 


FRANCKE    AND   HIS    WORK.  135 

"  Go  and  teach  all  nations."  Such  a  Avish  on  his 
part  could  not  long  exist  without  op2:)ortunity  for 
its  satisfaction.  King  Frederick  IV.  of  Denmark, 
at  the  instance  of  his  court-preachers,  Masius  and 
Liitkens,  decided  to  establish  a  mission  in  the 
Danish  possessions  in  India.  He  gave  the  matter 
into  the  hands  of  Dr.  Liitkens,  bidding  him  find 
two  men  who  were  willing  to  go  to  the  Danish 
colonies  as  missionaries.  Dr.  Liitkens  turned  to 
Francke,  whose  excellent  judgment  he  trusted, 
and  whose  mind  in  the  matter  he  well  knew,  sure 
that  among  the  many  able  young  men  by  whom 
he  was  surrounded  at  Halle,  Francke  would  be 
able  to  choose  some  who  Avould  be  both  willing 
and  competent  to  undertake  the  work.  Francke 
proposed  two  German  students  of  theology,  Bar- 
tholomew Ziegenbalg,  from  Pulsnitz  in  the  Ober- 
lausitz,  and  Henry  Pliitschau,  from  Wesenberg  in 
Mecklenburg.  They  were  at  once  sent  to  Copen- 
hagen for  ordination,  and  on  the  29th  of  Novem- 
ber set  sail  for  India.  The  result  justified 
Francke' s  choice. 

These  were  said  to  be  the  first  missionaries  of 
the  Lutheran  church,  and  the  first  mission  sta- 
tion was  the  one  which  they  established  at  Tran- 
(juebar  on  the  East  India  coast  of  Coromandel. 

Ziegenbalg  was  highly  gifted,  and  glowing  with 
fervent  zeal  he  addressed  himself  to  the  work  in  a 
manner  that  insured  success. 

In  the  beginning  he  sat  among  the  children  of 
an  India  school-niaster,  and  with  them  learned 
to  read  and  write  the  Tamul  from  letters  traced  in 
the  sand.  He  learned  to  understand  it  from  his 
India  servant,  and  finalty,  in  a  comparatively 
short  time,  it  became  to  him  as  his  mother  tongue. 

He  also  learned  the  Portuguese  and  associated 
himself  intimately   with   the  people.     The  first 


136  FRANCKE   AND    HIS   WORK. 

converts  at  the  mission  were  five  Pariahs  ;  but  so 
far  from  being  ashamed  or  discouraged,  they,  as 
Francke's  pupils,  well  understood  the  day  of 
small  things.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year,  t-bey 
had  a  little  congregation  of  th-irty-five  persons,  and 
the  year  1771  found  fourteen  thousand  Hindus 
belonging  to  the  mission  station  at  Tranquebar  and 
within  the  Christian  church. 

But  the  missionaries  found  no  bed  of  roses  in 
India.  The  work  was  full  of  difficulties,  the 
country  full  of  enemies  and  antagonists.  They 
found  even  here  among  the  European  residents 
enemies  of  the  so-called  pietistic  movement  of 
Francke  and  Spener,  who  opposed  the  practical 
and  living  work  of  the  men  from  Halle,  and  looked 
with  distrust  upon  any  departure  from  scholastic 
methods  in  religious  affairs.  But  it  was  said  that 
"they  had  one  good  friend  in  heaven,  and  in 
Europe  they  had  three  :  King  Frederick  of  Den- 
mark, Francke  in  Halle  and  the  Society  for  the 
promotion  of  the  Christian  Religion  in  England.'' 
These  were  all  faithful  helpers  of  the  mission  in 
Tranquebar.  Among  the  Germans  Francke  sus- 
tained it  with  his  pen  and  his  prayers.  At  Halle 
he  collected  means  and  supplies  for  the  needs  of 
the  mission,  and  kept  up  a  constant  correspond- 
ence with  its  missionaries  for  twenty  years.  In- 
deed, the  mission  remained  in  more  or  less  imme- 
diate connection  with  the  Or^^hanage,  and  mis- 
sions became  a  part  of  the  Christian  work  of 
Lutherans  from  this  time  forth,  though  in  Ger- 
many there  has  never  been  any  official  connection 
of  any  missionary  society  with  the  state  church, 
the  societies  being  quite  independent  of  the  church 
organization  and  government.  There  is  no  doul)t 
that  the  first  awakening  of  German  Christians  to 
their  duty  toward  the  heathen  nations  was  stimu- 


FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK.  137 

latecl,  if  not  caused,  by  the  reports  made  1)}^ 
Francke  concerning  the  Tranquebar  mission.  The 
first,  especially,  was  such  as  would  disturb  the 
Christian  conscience.  These  reports  were  entitled: 
"lama  debtor  both  to  the  Greek  and  the  Bar- 
barian ;"  and  the  first  appeared  in  Halle,  1710, 
with  warnings  to  the  reader  against  harsh  judg- 
ments concerning  the  work  and  a  plea  for  interest 
and  aid. 

Throughout  Germany  hearts  were  awakened  to 
bring  to  the  assistance  of  this  mission  both  gifts 
and  prayers  ;  and  of  the  thirty-three  missionaries 
who  went  out  from  Europe,  thirty  were  Germans. 

Ziegenbalg  translated  the  Xew  Testament  into 
the  Tamul  language,  and  the  plates  for  its  print- 
ing were  prepared  at  the  Halle  Orphan  House. 
Later  much  Christian  literature  was  printed  there 
for  the  use  of  the  mission  in  the  Tamul  language. 
It  was  the  Francke  reports  that  procured  for  this 
mission  its  third  friend  in  Europe.  The  first  re- 
port was  translated  into  English,  and  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  English  Society  to  the  mission. 
From  that  time  on  this  English  Society  supported 
the  Danish  Lutheran  mission  with  important 
financial  assistance,  and  as  they  witnessed  the 
l)lessings  of  the  Gospel  i.n  the  Danish  colony,  they 
laid  the  foundations-  of  their  own  mission  in  the 
English  colony  at  Madras  in  1730. 

So  long  as  Francke  lived,  the  responsibility  of 
choosing  these  missionaries  fell  upon  him.  And 
it  was  doubtless  through  the  choice  he  was  able 
to  make  from  time  to  time  that  the  mission  Avas  so 
prospered  in  its  work.  He  was  so  situated  as  to 
know  well  the  young  men  who  possessed  in  great- 
est measure  those  intellectual  gifts  and  Christian 
virtues  upon  which  the  blessed  results  of  the  work 
depended;    and,   perhaps,   none   better   than   he 


13S  FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK. 

knew  what  was  required  in  young  men  for  such 
arduous  work.  Indeed,  Francke's  choice  became 
sufficient  surety  that  a  man  could  labor  with 
blessing  among  the  heathen. 

The  most  celebrated  of  these  missionaries  were 
Ziegenbalg,  Benjamin  Schultze  and  Frederick 
Schwartz,  both  from  Sonneburg  in  Denmark,  and 
William  Gerike,  from  Kolberg  in  Pomerania. 
All  of  the  German  missionaries  sent  out  by  Francke 
w^ere  taken  from  the  University  without  special 
preparation  for  this  new  and  peculiar  work. 
Frederick  Schw^artz  became  the  most  celebrated  of 
all  these  missionaries.  He  commanded  the  re- 
spect and  confidence  of  all  classes  of  people  and 
all  religious  parties.  He  was  called  upon  to  in- 
terfere in  matters  of  commerce  and  state  as  well  as 
reUgion. 

In  the  year  1730,  King  Frederick  IV.  of  Den- 
mark, the  patron  of  the  India  mission,  died,  and 
his  successor,  Christian  VI.,  seemed  to  have  no 
disposition  to  continue  his  father's  work.  The 
mission  was  no  longer  well  sustained,  and  the 
outbreak  of  rationalism  threatened  to  sweep  it  out 
of  existence.  But  the  Lord  of  the  Church  did  not 
permit  its  entire  extinguishment,  and  it  rose  again 
to  its  former  strength  and  usefulness.  The  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  Missionary  Society  of  Leipzig 
undertook  new  buildings,  and  carried  forward  the 
work  W'ith  great  success. 

In  his  care  for  this  mission  to  the  heathen, 
Francke  did  not  forget  the  distresses  of  the  people 
of  Christian  countries.  In  the  year  1713  he  began 
to  send  relief  to  the  Swedish  prisoners  in  Siberia 
in  the  shape  of  books  and  money;  and  he  had 
always  a  warm  heart  for  the  Jews.  It  was  through 
his  influence  that,  in  1728,  Professor  Callenberg 
established  a  Jewish   Institute  at  Halle   for   the 


FRA^XKE    AND    HIS    WORK.  139 

conversion  of   the   Jews,   which  did  much   good 
among  them  up  to  1791. 

Francke's  kindly  incHnation  toward  the  Jews  is 
well  expressed  in  a  sermon  Avhich  he  preached  in 
1714  from  Luke  ii.  22-32:  "A  light  to  lighten  the 
Gentiles  and  the  glory  of  thy  people  Israel. ' '  In 
this  he  warned  against  the  abuse  and  l)urdening 
of  the  JeAYS,  by  which  no  one  was  bettered;  but 
by  which  one  was  marked  as  an  instrument  of  the 
wicked  enemy,  rather  than  as  the  child  of  God. 

This  work  for  missions  appeared  to  be  a  special 
joy  to  Francke  during  the  last  months  of  his  life. 
Speaking  of  it  in  a  letter  at  that  time,  he  says: 
"  How  often,  with  all  joy  under  the  free  heavens, 
have  I  sighed  to  God:  'Lord,  give  me  children  as 
the  dew  of  the  morning's  dawn,  as  the  sands  of 
the  sea,  as  the  stars  in  Heaven,  so  that  I  can  no 
more  count  them. '  And  what  shall  I  say  now  ? 
God  has  heard  my  childish  and  trustful  prayer 
with  so  much  grace  that  indeed  I  can  no  longer 
count  those  who  claim  to  know  the  blessedness  of 
the  word  from  my  own  lips. 

"And  not  only  in  Germany  do  these  abound,  but 
]>robably  more  in  other  lands  ;  for  it  has  pleased 
God  to  make  me  an  instrument  in  the  conversion 
of  the  heathen.  And  some  good  souls  have  said 
that  those  who  are  converted  from  heathenism 
among  them  are  like  my  children's  children,  since 
they  have  been  brought  to  Christ  by  my  spiritual 
sons  in  India.  Who  am  I  that  God  has  shown 
me  such  mercy,  and  that  He  yet  continues  it !" 


CHAPTER  V. 

HIS   LAST   DAYS   AND 
DEATH. 

Francke  did  not  marry  until  he  had  entered 
upon  his  thirty-second  year,  in  June,  1694.  This 
he  did  only  when  he  had  first  fervently  called 
upon  God  for  direction  and  blessing,  so  he  relates. 

His  A^dfe  was  Anna  Magdelena  von  Wurm,  the 
orphan  daughter  of  Henry  Otto  von  Wurm,  of  the 
Mansfeldian  estate  of  Rammelburg.  She  is  de- 
scribed as  a  gentle,  quiet  spirit,  a  true  child  of 
God,  uniting  her  life  and  heart  completely  to  her 
husband's  work  and  interests,  and  serving  thirty- 
three  years  as  his  faithful  companion  and  helper. 

Two  sons  and  one  daughter  were  born  to  them. 
The  first-born  son,  August  Gottlieb,  died  while 
yet  young.  Crotthilf  August,  the  second  son,  was 
born  on  the  21st  of  March,  1696.  His  relation  to 
his  father's  work  as  his  successor  was  important, 
and  requires  more  than  mere  mention  in  these 
pages.  His  birth  occurred  two  years  after  the 
founding  of  the  Orphan  House,  and  his  education 
was  begun  at  the  Pedagogium  and  finished  at  the 
University.  He  traveled  some  through  Germany, 
and  attended  lectures  for  a  time  at  the  University 
of  Jena,  to  hear  J.  Fr.  Buddeus.  He  held  a  pub- 
lic disputation  at  Jena  under  the  direction  of 
Buddeus  in  February,  1720.  On  his  return  to 
Halle,  he  acted  as  prison  chaplain  for  a  time,  and 
in  his  25th  year  was  ordained  to  the  ministry. 
(140) 


FRANCKE    AND    HIS    WORK.  141 

In  1723  he  became  ass^istant  in  St.  Mary's  Church, 
was  principal  of  the  Latin  school  and  assisted  his 
father  in  the  direction  of  the  Orphan  House  and 
its  various  branches.  In  1727  he  was  apponited 
extraordinary  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  Uni- 
versity, and  in  the  same  year,  by  his  father  s 
death^  was  obhged  to  accept  the  Directorship  of 
the  Orphan  House  and  Pedagogium.  The  follow- 
ing year  he  was  elected  to  membership  in  the 
English  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  the  Christian 
Religion.  He  was  Deacon,  then  Archdeacon  of 
St.  Mary's  Church,  Inspector  of  the  district  of 
Saale,  President  of  the  Consistorial  Council  of 
Halle,  and  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  The- 
ology in  1739. 

He  carried  on  successfully  the  work  begun  by 
his  father;  but  in  a  difierent  and  less  happy 
spirit.  His  father's  spirit  was  one  of  joy  and 
almost  saintly  benevolence.  The  son's  was  that 
of  an  ascetic.  He  was  one  of  the  most  rigid  re- 
presentatives of  Pietism,  who  beheved  and  prac- 
ticed the  mortification  of  the  members  rather  than 
their  sanctification.  As  an  academic  teacher  he 
was  distinguished  for  the  accuracy  of  his  instruc- 
tions and  the  great  and  practical  influence  which 
he  exercised  over  his  students. 

Up  to  the  time  of  his  death  he  continued  his 
interest  in  the  work  of  Foreign  Missions,  especially 
those  in  India  which  his  father  had  helped  to 
found,  and  continued  to  edit  and  pubhsh  the  re- 
ports as  they  had  been  begun. 

Twice  a  week  for  thirty  years  he  dehvered  exe- 
getical  lectures  in  the  great  assembly  hall  of  the 
Orphan-House,  and  in  many  ways  continued  the 
work  of  his  father. 

But  the  broadly  benevolent  spirit  and  ^4gorous 
enterprise  of  thelather  was  lacking  in  the  son. 


142         FRANCKE  AND  HIS  WORK. 

Had  he  possessed  these  paternal  characteristics  in 
a  greater  measure,  he  might  have  prevented  the 
Pietistic  movement  from  so  soon  sinking  into  that 
slough  of  extremes  toward  which  it  was  fast  tend- 
ing. Indeed,  he  was  himself  an  extremist,  and, 
consequently,  but  ill  fitted  for  leadership. 

But  his  offices  in  behalf  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
in  America  must  not  be  overlooked.  Daniel 
Weissiger  was  sent  to  Germany  by  the  German 
Lutherans  who  first  settled  in  this  country,  to  col- 
lect funds  and  procure  a  preacher  for  these  needy 
^and  churchless  people.  He  carried  letters  to  sev- 
eral persons  likely  to  give,  and  to  assist  him  in 
getting  aid;  but  especially  Avas  he  recommended 
to  Dr.  G.  A.  Francke,  at  Halle,  as  one  interested 
in  Foreign  Missions.  Francke  was  interested. 
' '  A  Brief  Report  from  America ' '  was  published, 
together  with  a  letter  of  recommendation  from  the 
English  Court  preacher,  Ziegenhagen,  the  needs 
of  Lutherans  in  America  in  the  matter  of  churches 
and  schools  were  also  made  known  by  letter  and 
orally,  and  aroused  many  Christian  people  to  offer 
sympathy  and  aid.  Dr.  G.  A.  Francke  and  Pas- 
tor Maier  in  Halle,  Dr.  Pfeiffer  in  Leipzig,  and 
Senior  Urlsperger  in  Augsburg,  received  the  ac- 
cumulated contributions.  But  there  was  delay  in 
finding  the  right  kind  of  a  man  to  send  to  Amer- 
ica as  a  missionary.  Finally,  it  was  Dr.  G.  A. 
Francke,  himself,  who,  acting  for  the  German 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Churches  in  Philadelphia, 
New  Hanover  and  Providence,  extended  a  call  to 
Rev.  Henry  Melchoir  Muhlenberg  to  become  pas- 
tor of  these  churches.  During  the  remainder  of 
his  life  the  younger  Francke  took  a  lively  interest 
in  the  American  churches,  and  edited  and  pub- 
lished the  reports  of  the  American  churches  sent 
to  Halle  under  the  title  of  the  "Halle  Reports." 


FRAXCKE    AND    HIS    WORK.  143 

At  the  time  of  his  death  the  eleventh  eontiniiatioii 
of  these  reports  was  being  prepared  for  the  press. 
The  younger  Francke  pubhshed  numerous  writ- 
ings of  a  varied  character  and  conscientiously 
discharged  his  various  official  duties.  He  died 
September  2d,  1769. 

SXe  have  turned  aside  from  our  proper  bio- 
graphical sketch,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  in 
part  how  the  spirit  of  Augustas  Hermann  Francke, 
and  the  institutions  which  he  founded  at  Halle, 
the  faith  which  he  loved  and  honored,  the  mis- 
sionary zeal  which  he  awakened,  took  root  in 
American  soil.  Here,  as  in  India,  Bibles  were 
furnished  for  some  time  by  the  Canstein  Bible 
House,  and  the  religious  literature  came  from  the 
printing-presses  of  the  Halle  Orphanage,  at  the 
instance  of  the  younger  Francke.  The  schools 
were  influenced  l:)y  the  Halle  institutions,  and 
Muhlenberg  himself  was  educated  at  Gottingen,  a 
university  of  the  same  spirit,  and  the  immediate 
follower  of  Halle  in  philosophy  and  theology. 
He  also  studied  theology  one  year  at  Halle. 

The  daughter  of  Augustus  Hermann  Francke 
was  his  youngest  child.  She  was  named  Johanna 
Sophia  Anastasia.  A\^hen  grown  to  womanhood 
she  was  united  in  marriage  to  John  Anastasius 
Freylinghausen,  so  long  her  father's  faithful  friend 
and  able  assistant.  To  them  were  born  a  son  and 
two  daughters.  The  son,  G.  Anastasius  Freyling- 
hausen, died  in  1785,  a  preacher  and  professor  of 
theology  at  Halle.  The  two  daughters  married 
the  brothers,  John  Conrad  Philip  Niemeyer  and 
J.  Anton  Niemeyer.  The  former  was  Archdeacon 
of  St.  Mary's  church,  and  the  latter  was  the  In- 
spector of  the  Royal  Pcdagogmm.  This  latter  died 
in  1765,  and  thus  the  management  of  the  Francke 
institutions  passed  over  to  the  Niemeyer  family. 


144         FRANCKE  AND  HIS  WORK. 

The  biographer  has  but  meagre  information 
from  which  to  present  a  picture  of  Francke's 
home  hfe.  His  was  truly  a  Hfe  hid  with  Christ 
in  God.  For  several  years  George  Frederick 
Rogall,  Doctor  of  Theology  and  Professor  of  Phil- 
osophy at  Konigsberg,  was  a  member  of  his  fam- 
ily, and  his  trusted  friend.  He  has  little  to  tell 
of  the  life  of  the  family,  but  there  is  much  in  that 
little.  There  was,  he  says,  gentleness  and  quie- 
tude throughout  the  house.  There  was  never  an 
outcry,  a  word  of  anger  or  bitterness  to  be  heard. 
The  family  faults  did  not  rule  there,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  those  domestic  virtues  commended  by 
the  Scriptures  predominated. 

With  the  busy  master  of  the  house  much  of  his 
contact  with  his  family  was  at  the  table,  and  here 
his  mind  was  not  diverted  from  its  usual  channels. 
Often  he  told  how  the  blessings  and  providences 
of  God  were  being  made  manifest  to  other  people 
and  in  other  places.  Sometimes  he  carried  on  an 
instructive  conversation,  or,  when  one  of  his 
grand-children  was  present,  taught  a  profitable 
verse  of  Scripture,  with  its  meaning  and  applica- 
tion. Nothing  was  reserved  for  selfish  pleasure  or 
frivolous  enjoyment;  but  all  was  done  to  the 
honor  and  glory  of  God.  Indeed,  if  Francke 
erred,  it  was  on  the  side  of  too  great  industry  and 
devotion  to  his  work. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  year  1694,  he  received  a 
letter  from  Magdeburg  from  a  friend  who  was  in 
great  financial  distress,  and  who  begged  for  as- 
sistance. Francke  was  not  himself  in  circum- 
stances which  enabled  him  to  furnish  the  desired 
aid  ;  but  he  decided  to  prepare  Bible  commen- 
taries and  have  them  printed  and  issued  in 
monthly  editions,  in  order  to  bring  him  in  the 
money  necessary  to  meet  the  needs  of  his  friend. 


FRANCKE    AND    HIS    WOKK.  140 

In  order  to  do  tliis,  with  the  other  duties  which 
ah'eady  filled  his  time  to  repletion,  he  was  obliged 
to  forego  his  evening  meal,  using  the  time  which 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  devote  to  it  in  the 
preparation  of  the  commentary. 

There  was  also  strength  in  his  quiet  and  self- 
sacrificing  life,  which  was  able  to  overcome  op- 
position and  disarm  more  than  one  enemy.  In 
order  to  strengthen  the  new  University  at  Halle, 
Baron  Von  Dancklemann,  the  Prussian  minister, 
wished  to  call  to  a  professorship  there  the  then 
celebrated  jurist.  Dr.  Samuel  Stryk,  of  Wittenberg 
University.  But  Wittenberg  was  bitter  enough 
against  the  young  university  and  its  faculty, 
especially  against  Francke ;  and  throughout  Sax- 
ony had  been  circulated  all  manner  of  derogatory 
reports  concerning  him.  He  Avas  a  disturber  of 
the  peace,  a  fanatic,  a  greedy  collector  of  funds 
w^hich  he  converted  to  his  own  selfish  uses  or 
hoarded  for  his  family  ;  in  short,  he  was  a  Pietist, 
a  name  w^hich  covered  unsounded  and  mysterious 
depths  of  possible  error. 

Dr.  Stryk  refused  to  consider  the  call  unless 
this  arch-pietist,  Francke,  should  be  first  dis- 
missed. Francke  was  w^ritten  to  and  informed  of 
this,  and  he  was  given  the  choice  of  various  super- 
intendencies  and  other  positions,  if  he  would  re- 
sign. Stryk  had  also  received  a  very  flattering 
call  from  Copenhagen,  and  this  added  to  the 
anxiety  of  the  Berlin  ministry.  Francke  was 
given  to  understand  that  if  he  did  not  quietly  re- 
sign, his  removal  w^ould  follow.  To  this  Francke 
made  answer  :  "I  am  fully  satisfied  of  the  divin- 
ity of  my  call  to  Halle,  and  in  the  other  positions 
proposed,  I  have  not  the  certainty  of  the  blessing 
wdiich  I  have  witnessed  in  my  work  here.  If  I 
have  done  anything  punishable,  it  can  be  proven, 


146  FRANCKE   AND    HTS    WORK. 

and  I  am  willing  to  be  dealt  with  accordingly  ; 
but  I  am  determined  that  I  shall  not  suffer  my- 
self to  be  innocently  removed. ' ' 

No  one  had  expected  such  decision  and  such 
steadfast  declarations  from  the  gentle  Francke, 
and  as  Dr.  Stryk  preferred  a  professorship  in 
Halle  to  that  in  Copenhagen,  the  Berlin  officials 
persuaded  him  to  accept  the  call,  leaving  Francke 
in  position. 

He  came  to  Halle,  met  Francke,  saw  his  daily 
life,  his  benevolent  deeds,  his  trust  in  God,  and 
entirely  changed  his  judgment  of  him.  He  be- 
came one  of  his  truest  and  most  trusted  friends, 
and  remained  in  this  relation  to  him  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1710. 

Francke,  like  his  friend  Spener,  prayed  often. 
Sometimes  it  was  at  his  work,  sometimes  it  was 
with  or  for  friends  who  called  upon  him;  but  he 
also  had  fixed  hours  for  prayer  and  lists  of  friends 
for  whom  he  daily  prayed  according  to  their  need. 
Not  a  few  of  his  acquaintances  believed  that  they 
had  him  and  his  daily  prayers  to  thank  for  their 
conversion. 

But  true  and  earnest  as  Francke  was  in  prayer, 
he  was  riot  less  earnest  in  brotherly  reproof  when 
he  held  reproof  to  be  necessary.  One  instance  of 
this  was  the  stern,  almost  angry  words,  spoken  by 
him  to  Samuel  Urlsperger,  who  was  of  a  more 
timid  and  retiring  nature,  but  not  lacking  in 
sincere  and  honest  piety. 

Urlsperger  was  Court-preacher  in  Stuttgart,  and 
at  that  time  life  at  the  Court  was  frivolous  and 
wanton. 

The  Duke  himself  was  living  in  open  shame, 
and  every  Christian  tongue  was  bound  by  men's 
fear  or  men's  favor. 

In  1717  Francke  traveled  through  South  Ger- 


FRAXCKE   AND    HIS    AVOKK.  147 

many,  forced  to  the  change  by  over-work  and  de- 
cHning  health.  He  visited  Ihdsperger,  and  heard 
him  preach,  and  after  the  sermon  went  to  him 
full  of  sorrow.  ''I  hear,  brother."  he  said, 
"that  thy  lectures  are  Evangehcal;  .  but  thou 
touchest  the  sins  of  the  Court  with  no  word.  I 
come  to  say  to  thee,  in  God's  name,  that  thou 
art  a  dumb  dog,  and  if  thou  turnest  not  about, 
and  as  a  public  teacher  of  the  truth  speak  out 
freely,  thou  wilt  be  lost,  in  spite  of  all  thy  con- 
fessions." 

Francke  took  a  troul)led  leave  of  his  friend. 
But  on  the  following  Sunday  the  Court-preacher 
spoke  with  great  earnestness  and  freedom  of  the 
prevailing  sins.  The  Duke  sent  him  word  that 
he  had  felt  like  having  him  shot  in  the  pulpit; 
and  that  unless  he  would,  on  the  following  Sun- 
day, retract  from  the  pulpit  all  he  had  said,  he 
would  complain  of  him  before  the  High  Court, 
and  as  his  crime  was  against  royalty,  he  might 
easily  lose  his  head. 

Urlsperger  answered  that  he  could  not,  under 
any  circumstances,  recall  what  he  had  said,  and 
no  more  could  he  retract;  that  his  majesty  must 
do  with  him  as  he  would.  He  was  arrested  and 
brought  to  judgment  before  the  Royal  Court.  He 
was  again  given  opportunity  to  retract,  but  re- 
fused, and  the  day  of  his  execution  was  fixed. 

Upon  this  he  sent  for  his  wife  and  four  children, 
and  asked  his  wife  what  she  wished  him  to  do  in 
the  matter.  The  heroic  woman  replied:  "My 
dear  husband,  your  death  would  throw  me  and 
our  children  into  the  greatest  bodily  distress;  I 
pray  you,  however,  in  God's  name,  do  not  deny 
the  truth;  that  would  Ining  a  curse  upon  me  and 
our  children." 

He  was  comforted   by  this  answer,   and  sent 


148  FRANCKE    AND    HIS    WORK. 

word  to  the  Duke  that  his  head  was  at  his  service 
any  day. 

The  Duke  brought  his  death-warrant  to  be 
signed  by  the  Prime  Minister;  but  the  Minister 
laid  down,  his  sword  and  offered  to  give  up  his 
office,  saying:  "Your  Majesty,  here  is  my  office 
and  my  honor;  I  subscribe  no  debts  of  blood." 

The  Duke  was  amazed,  and,  rather  than  lose 
his  first  Councillor,  he  satisfied  himself  by  only 
dismissing  the  Court-preacher  with  the  condition 
that  he  must  seek  a  position  outside  of  the  state. 

A  few  years  later  the  same  Minister  was  with 
the  Duke  watching  a  military  review,  when  the 
former  Court-preacher  passed  them.  The  Minister 
called  the  Duke's  attention  to  him,  saying: 
"  Your  Majesty,  so  long  as  this  man  was  in  office, 
you  had  blessing  and  happiness  in  the  kingdom; 
but  since  we  have  a  flatterer  in  his  place,  every- 
thing goes  unluckily.  Will  you  not  make  good 
his  wrongs,  and  at  least  care  and  provide  for 
him?" 

This  was  done.  Urlsperger  was  made  Deacon 
in  Herrenberg,  and  soon  after  first  preacher  at 
Augsburg.  Here  he  passed  many  happy  days, 
still  the  friend  of  Francke,  and  was  one  to  give  aid 
and  sympathy  to  the  early  churches  in  America 
and  their  hard-working  missionaries.  He  died  at 
a  great  age  in  1772. 

Francke,  himself,  stood  in  no  fear  of  royalty  or 
those  high  in  office.  In  May,  1713,  he  was  sent 
as  deputy  of  the  Halle  University  to  assist  at  the 
funeral  of  Frederick  II.  of  Prussia.  While  in 
Berlin  he  preached  in  the  Garrison  church  in  the 
presence  of  the  king  with  undisturbed  composure, 
and  with  his  usual  freedom  and  courage.  After- 
ward the  king  said  loudly,  in  the  presence  of  his 
Court :  ' '  Francke  is  a  good  man.  He  speaks  the 
truth  to  every  one." 


FRANCKE    AND    IIIS    WORK.  149 

This  favorable  ini]:)ression  made  upon  the  new 
king  (Frederick  William  II.),  wrought  rich  re- 
sults for  the  Halle  University  and  Francke's  in- 
stitutions, which  found  in  him  an  interested 
patron. 

Francke's  life  was  also  full  of  beneficence  to  the 
lowly  as  well  to  those  who  were  his  friends  and 
equals  and  those  of  high  estate. 

At  one  time  an  unhappy  and  stubborn  woman 
came  to  Halle  seeking  his  counsed.  He  directed 
her  to  go  home  and  make  peace  with  her  mother- 
in-law.  But  the  woman  declared  that  the  church- 
tower  would  as  readily  lay  itself  on  the  ground  as 
she  would  put  aside  her  hate  for  her  mother-in- 
law,  since  she  had  made  her  so  angry.  There- 
upon Francke  said  to  her  : 

' '  That  does  not  surprise  me.  I  am  quite  satis- 
fied that  you  are  in  no  condition  to  be  reconciled 
to  your  mother-in-law.  That  will  only  be  possi- 
ble to  you  when  you  call  upon  God  in  the  matter. 
I  beseech  you  earnestly  to  promise  me  that  yon 
will  pray  to  God  for  a  reconcilable  heart." 

The  woman  did  not  trust  herself  to  disregard 
his  request,  and  after  a  few  days  she  returned 
saying  : 

"Now  I  Avill  go  and  make  peace  with  my 
mother-in-law." 

She  did  this,  and  when  her  pastor  at  home  asked 
her  why  she  had  not  done  so  before,  she  replied : 

"You  readily  admonished  me  to  peace  and 
reconciliation,  but  you  did  not  tell  me  how  it 
should  be  accomplished,  and  that  I  must  go  to 
God  for  it." 

Once  as  Francke  stood  by  the  half  finishecl 
foundation  of  the  Orphan-House,  his  means  ex- 
hausted and  the  work  about  to  stop  for  want  of 
stone  and  lime,  a  workman  brought  to  him  a  box 


150  fraincke  and  his  work. 

of  coins  found  by  those  who  were  digging  for  the 
wall.  The  coins  bore  this  stamp :  ' '  Jehovah. 
Conditor  Condita  Coronide  Coronet^ 

"This,"  said  Francke,  "again  lifted  me  up 
and  sustained  my  faith,  so  that  I  with  gladness 
and  comfort  resumed  the  work  in  the  hope  that  I 
should  see  the  building  brought  to  completion." 

This  might  also  be  applied  to  Francke's  life 
when  his  course  had  been  run  in  faith,  and  fin- 
ished, and  his  crown  of  righteousness  received. 

During  the  course  of  his  work  it  was  frequently 
necessary  for  Francke  to  take  long  journeys  'in  its 
behalf.  In  the  year  1718  he  made  the  last  of 
these  journeys,  and  returned  refreshed  and 
strengthened  to  his  labors  in  Halle.  Up  to  his 
sixty-third  year  he  was  able  to  discharge  all  his 
various  duties  and  obligations  in  the  most  punc- 
tual manner. 

A  few  years  later  he  suffered  a  most  serious 
loss  in  the  death  of  his  old  friend  and  assistant 
Neubauer.  He  was'  much  affected  by  the  de- 
parture of  this  peaceful  soul,  who  had  so  long  and 
faithfully  served  him  in  God's  work.  In  Neu- 
bauer's  desk  was  found  a  note  saying:  "I  wish 
to  be  buried  in  the  quietest  manner.  They  shall 
prepare  no  service  or  funeral  sermon  or  memorial. 
I  was  born  in  1666  at  Desdorf,  in  Hall)erstadt. 
This,  and  when  I  died,  is  enough  concerning  my 
life." 

Francke,  himself,  remained  but  a  short  time  to 
need  or  mourn  this  friend.  The  year  following 
Neubauer' s  death,  19P25,  he  began  to  suffer  from 
the  painful  malady  which  resulted  in  his  death. 
In  June,  1726,  he  was  able  to  take  a  journey  to 
Altenburg  with  the  hope  of  improving  his  health, 
and  to  visit  his  friend  Count  von  Henkel.  But 
he  remained  ill,  and  in  the  autumn  of  the  same 


FRANCKE    AND    HIS    WORK.  151 

year  suffered  a  partial  paralysis  of  the  left  side. 
He  recovered  from  this  so  as  to  be  able  to  go 
al)out  and  even  accomplish  some  lidit  work.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  new  year,  1627,  he  seemed 
to  regain  his  health,  and  bade  Dr.  Richter  and 
his  colleague  pack  up  their  medicine,  since  they 
could  see  that  a  higher  hand  was  upon  him. 

He  now  spent  much  time  reading  his  favorite 
religious  works,  and  wrote  many  letters  to  his  old 
friends.  He  often  expressed  himself  as  being 
weary  and  longing  for  the  Heavenly  home,  the 
New  Jerusalem,  but  as  willing  to  live  if  it  was  the 
Lord's  will.  He  al)stained  from  all  severe  or 
wearisome  labor,  saying  that  he  did  not  wish  to 
destroy  by  his  carelessness  what  God  built  up. 
He  grew  to  feel  much  stronger,  and  hoped  in  the 
summer  semester  of  lf27  to  take  up  his  lectures 
at  the  University  again. 

He  really  appeared  there  on  the  loth  of  May, 
and  held  one  lecture,  the  first  since  his  illness 
and  the  last  in  his  life-time.  He  closed  this  lec- 
ture with  visible  emotion,  and  with  words  which 
it  was  not  his  custom  to  use:  "So  go  now  hence, 
and  be  ye  blessed  of  the  Lord  forever  and  ever!  " 

Two  days  after  lie  ai)peared  in  the  Church  and 
partook  of  the  communion,  but  with  greatly  in- 
creased physical  weakn-ess.  Once  more  he  was 
taken  to  the  garden  of  the  Orphan-House,  where 
for  an  hour  he  poured  out  his  heart  in  fervent 
prayer,  a  glorious  psalm  of  praise  and  trust  and 
victorious  hope.  In  the  morning  he  asked  that 
some  favorite  hymns  be  sung,  and  was  strong  and 
hopeful  in  spirit;  but  by  the  evening  his  former 
illness  returned  in  a  greatly  aggravated  form. 
Drs.  Richter,  Junker  and  Becker  called  the  Prus- 
sian Court-physician  and  all  of  the  medical  pro- 
fessors of  the  University  in  counsel,  but  the  time 


152  FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK. 

of  his  release  was  near.  He  suffered  much  from 
that  on,  and  once  prayed  the  Heavenly  Father  to 
teach  him  not  only  to  do,  but  to  suffer  according 
to  His  will,  that  he  should  not  vex  Him  by  word 
or  thought,  and  since  He  could  make  everything 
blessed,  that  his  sufferings  should  be  for  the  edi- 
fication of  others. 

On  the  seventh  day,  as  his  sufferings  increased, 
he  blessed  each  one  present,  and  said :  ' '  All  who 
are  received  into  heaven  can  say  that  they  have 
come  out  of  great  tribulation.  When  I  go  to 
heaven,  the  Lord  will  ask  me:  'Whence  comest 
thou  hither?'  Ah,  I  must  answer  Him:  '  Out  of 
little  tribulation;  yet  in  these  last  daj^s  I,  too,  have 
suffered,  and  am  also  one  of  those  that  come  to 
Thee  out  of  tribulation.'  "  «. 

Day  after  day  of  weakness  and  extreme  suffer- 
ing served  only  to  bring  him  to  greater  joy  in 
prayer  and  communion  with  God,  and  hope  of  his 
speedy  and  victorious  release  from  pain.  On  the 
day  of  his  death  he  <[3arted  from  friends  and  kin- 
dred with  gentle  words  of  blessing.  His  wife 
asked  him :  ' '  Your  Saviour  is  yet  near  you,  is  He 
not?"  "There  is  no  doubt  of  it,"  he  replied, 
and  these  were  his  last  words.  He  fell  into  a 
gentle  sleep,  and  at  evening,  June  8th,  1727, 
quietly  passed  away. 

The  whole  city  came  to  look  once  more  upon 
his  face,  and  on  June  17th  great  crowds  followed 
his  remains  to  his  last  resting-place,  and  many 
pens  were  busied  with  memorials  of  one  who  is 
yet  styled,  "A  man  after  God's  heart." 

In  the  preceding  pages  we  have  not  aimed  to 
present  the  Pietistic  Movement  in  its  historical  or 
theological  relations.  We  have  striven  only  to 
give  a  brief  sketch  of  two  men  most  prominent  in 


FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK.  153 

its  beginning,  and  to  speak  of  the  spirit  and  mo- 
tives which  prompted  their  action.  That  Ration- 
aUsm  sprang  up  in  the  wake  of  Pietism  is  not  to 
be  denied;  but  the  causes  of  it  must  not  be 
thoughtlessly  stated.  One  historian  insists  that 
the  "Seeds  of  Rationalism  were  already  in  the 
ground"  before  the  time  of  Spener;  another  claims 
that  it  was  the  result  of  Wolff's  philosophy  and 
Thomasius'  Freedom  of  Teaching  (Lehrfreihelt) . 
Others  believe  that  it  was  the  logical  outcome  of 
the  emotional  religion  of  the  Pietisic  extremists. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  neither  Spener  nor  Francke 
stood  for  a  rationalistic  theology,  or  emotionalism 
in  religion.  They  wrought  nol)ly  against  the  evils 
of  the  time;  and  if  men  and  women  of  less  breadth 
and  ecpianimity  abused  the  principles  for  which 
they  stood,  or  failed  to  understand  them  in  their 
proper  relations,  the  memories  of  Spener  and 
Francke  are  not  to  be  burdened  with  these  mis- 
takes. They  produced  a  revival  of  living,  active 
faith,  the  beneficent  results  of  which  survive  to- 
day in  their  own  country  and  in  ours. 

The  spirit  of  the  Halle  University  brought  new 
dignity  and  power  to  educational  centres  every- 
where. If  individuals  and  schools  at  any  time 
divorced  its  principles  from  the  true  religious 
faith,  from  the  very  jiature  of  truth  the  separation 
must  have  been  but  temporary.  Its  principles 
survived,  and  bear  the  tests  of  later  times  and 
more  advanced  thought.  They  were  necessary  to 
aid  in  the  rescue  of  theology  from  the  bold  author- 
ity of  men's  statements  and  to  plant  its  truths  in 
the  free  consciousness  of  the  individual. 

Tares  have  been  plentifully  sown  with  the  good 
seed  which  these  men  cast  abroad;  but  the  good 
grain  has  also  flourished  and  yielded  its  rich 
harvest  in  many  an  otherwise  desolate  spot:  the 


154  FRANCKE   AND    HIS    WORK. 

revival  of  strict  catechisation,  public  confirmation, 
general  and  careful  study  of  the  Word,  meetings 
for  prayer,  evangelical  preaching,  and  at  least  a 
demand  for  moral  rectitude  in  the  life  of  the 
Christian  and  the  Christian  minister,  continue  to 
l)ear  witness  to  the  wisdom  of  Spener's  work. 
The  practical  benevolence  of  Christians  is  still 
stirred  by  the  almost  superhuman  devotion  of 
Francke  to  the  uplifting  of  the  ignorant  and  the 
needy,  and  it  is  much  owing  to  his  influence  that 
the  brotherhood  of  man  and  the  value  and  dignity 
of  the  human  soul  has  been  read  into  every 
Christian  Creed. 

Yet,  perhaps,  there  is  no  one  lesson  to  be 
learned  from  these  short  biographies  so  important 
for  the  Christian  as  that  expressed  in  the  single 
passage  of  Scripture  which  Francke  placed  above 
the  main  entrance  to  the  Orphan  House.  Be- 
neath the  figures  of  two  soaring  eagles  stands  this 
inscription:  "But  they  that  wait  upon  the  Lord 
shall  renew  their  strength;  they  shall  mount  up 
with  wings  as  eagles." 


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